The number of people employed in the industrial sector fell by 6,300 in the year to June 2004, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The statistics include operatives, maintenance workers, storekeepers, packers, cleaners, basic supervisory staff and apprentices. The figures reflect other data, which have shown a fall-off in manufacturing jobs over the past 12 months.

However, the trend seems to have improved in recent months. When seasonally adjusted, the figures show that, between March and June, industrial employment rose by 1,400.

The CSO has also recorded that the average weekly earnings of industrial workers in all industries increased by 4.3 per cent when compared to June 2003.

Industrial hourly earnings rose by 4.4 per cent while average hours worked remained unchanged. Average weekly earnings of all employees, including clerical and managerial personnel working in the sector, rose by 4.6 per cent in the year to June 2004.

According to the CSO, this rise consists of increases of 4.3 per cent for industrial employees and 4.4 per cent for clerical and managerial employees combined.

Meanwhile, across the euro zone, industrial production rose by 0.4 of a percentage point in July from the previous month and climbed 2.4 per cent from a year earlier, according to Eurostat.

The monthly increase was smaller than the consensus forecast but the year-on-year rise surpassed economists' expectations.