Thriving or Surviving? The Manufacturing Sector Health Check - September 2026

The manufacturing sector has had mixed fortunes in recent months. See how it’s shaping up for autumn in the wider context of the UK market, as we pull the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

GDP (for July 2026)

Manufacturing GDP rose almost a whole point in the July figures, up 0.9 points to 101.5.

The UK figure also increased nearly half a point, rising 0.4 points to 103.8.

These are the three manufacturing sub-sectors that demonstrated the largest growth in the last month: 

Sub-sector	Growth
Repair and maintenance of ships and boats	13.6%
Manufacture of dairy products	4.5%
Manufacture of fabricated metal products	4.0%

Employment and vacancies (for August 2026)

Paid employees in manufacturing dropped slightly by 0.37%, to 2.28 million.

The number of UK employees also saw a slight decrease, to 30.23 million.

Manufacturing vacancies reversed July’s decline of 1,000, to stand at 48,000 in August. There was a small decrease of 4,000 (0.57%) in the overall UK figure.

Wages and payroll (for July 2026)

Manufacturing mean pay increased by £25 or 0.66% to £3,786. The mean pay figure for the UK overall went up by £9 to £3,529 (prior figures for both have been adjusted).

Aggregate pay in the manufacturing sector rose 0.65% to £8.67 billion per month (prior month’s figure adjusted).

Aggregate pay for the UK increased by 0.2%, to sit at £106.87 billion per month.

Exports and production (for July 2026)

Exports increased by 0.3% in July.

The three manufacturing sub-sectors which displayed the largest export growth for July were:

Sub-sector	Growth
Building of ships and boats	67.0%
Manufacture of textiles	19.0%
Manufacture of furniture	17.0%

UK production values (for July 2026)

In July, these were the three manufacturing sub-sectors recording the largest percentage of production value growth:

Sub-sector	Growth
Repair and maintenance of ships	24.0%
Manufacture of wearing apparel	14.1%
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment	13.2%

The largest falls in production during the month happened in:

Sub-sector	Decline
Repair and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft	-37.8%
Building of ships and boats	-34.0%
Manufacture of other transport equipment	-19.4%

Our take on the latest data

Manufacturing performance through July and August 2026 continues to point to a sector in Surviving mode.

There were some positives: output and exports improved, vacancies recovered, and pay and payroll growth strengthened. On the other hand, employment softened again and production remained highly uneven across sub-sectors.

The manufacturing sector GDP increased by 0.9 points, outpacing the 0.4-point rise in UK GDP. We see this as a welcome reversal of June’s setback that narrows some of the gap with the wider economy, while strong growth in selected sub-sectors shows a concentration of that momentum.

Manufacturing employment softened against a broadly stable picture for the UK. The sector’s labour market signal is mildly weaker than the national picture, although still consistent with gradual adjustment rather than a sharp contraction.

Manufacturing vacancies recovered in August, while UK vacancies fell again over the same period. The sector’s improvement offers a tentative sign of renewed hiring demand despite the continued easing in employment.

Exports returned to growth after June’s decline. Strong gains indicate meaningful pockets of external demand strength, although the concentration of growth means broad-based export momentum is not yet assured.

Changes in the latest production values underline the volatile and uneven nature of performance across manufacturing.

Pay momentum improved in the latest data: manufacturing mean pay increased while manufacturing payroll grew faster. This is a more positive income signal, but not enough on its own to offset softer employment and marked volatility across sub-sectors.

What’s your view on the latest data – is the sector Thriving or Surviving? Find our latest data in graphics over on the Enginuity LinkedIn page.

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