Manufacturing enjoys record job growth

The UK's manufacturing industry experienced record levels of job creation during February, thanks to a surge in both output and demand, according to a new report.

The study by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and Markit showed that production and new orders had remained close to January's 16-and-a-half year highs last month.

Elsewhere, new export orders rose for the fifth time in a row, thanks to a surge in demand for British goods from the US, China, Germany and the Middle East.

CIPS and Markit said that the improvement in conditions fuelled record job creation in the consumer and intermediate goods sectors, while also driving employment among producers of capital goods.

However, despite the good news for graduates looking to land a position in the industry, the report was not entirely positive.

Inflationary pressures continued to build during February, with companies facing higher input costs for energy, cotton, metals, plastics, oil and timber. As a result of these rising overheads, output prices climbed at the second fastest rate on record.

The overall Purchasing Managers Index stood at 61.5 points, level with January's all-time high. It has now been above 50 points, which indicates manufacturing activity is expanding, for 19 consecutive months.

CIPS chief executive David Noble said: "Strong growth in demand across the manufacturing sector continued to put breath in the sails of the UK economy February.

"The fly in the ointment remains macro-level inflation, which is likely to go from bad to worse due to the unrest in Libya and escalating oil prices."