Last month’s output saw its largest contraction since the height of the pandemic in May 2020, according to the latest S&P Global/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
The index dropped to 47.3 from 52.1 in July – numbers above 50 generally correspond with growth, and numbers below 50 indicate a contraction.
According to S&P Global, companies experienced a steep downturn in new orders in August, with interest from domestic and overseas clients falling heavily. This led to the supply of new jobs grinding to a halt, and a drop in business optimism, they added.
