A MANUFACTURING job was lost every working minute of the day last year as the sector slumped into crisis.

A survey by the GMB union showed that 112,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in the UK in 2001.

Scotland lost most of the jobs with a massive 17,000 posts being cut.

The North-East saw 7,000 job losses, while Yorkshire and Humberside saw 6,800 jobs axed.

GMB general secretary John Edmonds blamed uncertainty over adopting the euro as a major factor in deterring multinational firms from investing in this country.

"While the euro and the pound remain worlds apart we will continue to see these job losses. The best way forward to protect British jobs is to join the euro at a realistic exchange rate.

"We must do this to ensure a healthy and vibrant economy and we must do it soon."

Meanwhile, the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) has predicted that any recovery in the engineering and manufacturing sector is unlikely until the second half of the year.

The EEF said there was cautious optimism that signs of an improvement would be seen by the summer. But it said that the outlook was still bleak across all regions of the UK with output falling at its fastest rate for three years.

Engineering output fell by 3.2 per cent in 2001, led by the downturn in electronics, and the EEF forecast a further drop of two per cent this year.

Director-general Martin Temple called on the Bank of England to keep interest rates on hold this week to allow "breathing space" for the recovery to begin.