Manufacturing in Britain: Continual Decline or Possible Renaissance?
Since 1966, manufacturing employment in the United Kingdom has declined. In 1995, 300,973 people were employed in manufacturing in the West Midlands (Metropolitan County), but by 2008 this had declined to 153,800. Over the same period, an additional 87,481 jobs in public administration, education and health were created and 185,158 jobs in services. Yet many of these service jobs are poorly paid and only provide services for local people rather than for export.