Innovantage's latest Demand Barometer shows that last quarter saw a 5% decline in the number of official job vacancies in the Manufacturing sector compared with last year (2018).

The number of official vacancies within Manufacturing declined, YoY, for a second successive rolling quarter in March-May 2019 – and by the last month of the quarter (May), the volume of original ads was 17% lower than a year earlier.  A 7% increase in the number of ads within automotive disciplines remains the one major occupational outlier. Beyond this, there were declines in original ad volumes within Design Engineering (-24%), Production (-15%) and Skilled Trades (-14%).

What could be the reasons behind this decline in job vacancies in the Manufacturing sector in Wales?