NINE thousand jobs were lost in Gwent in the manufacturing sector between 2007 and 2011, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

Figures collated by the GMB union show that 45,700 in Gwent were employed in 2006/2007 in the sector – but 36,700 in 2010/11.

Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent saw the largest loss in jobs with 3,800 and 2,600 gone in each respective county.

Atotal of 1,600 jobs were lost in Newport, 800 in Torfaen and 200 in Monmouthshire.

GMB Wales secretary Allan Garley said the recession had accelerated the job losses.

“This ‘march of the makers’ is the most tragic economic story from Britain in the last two decades,” he said.

Andrew Hoppe, MD of Newport steel fabricator Rowecord Engineering, which built the 160-metre-long roof for the Olympic Acquatics Centre, told the Argus that last year his firm made a loss.

“Things are a bit better at the moment,” he said, with enough work to keep them going for six to nine months.

“But in the long term the second half of this year we are not sure what’s happening – at the moment we’re just keeping our heads above water.”

Mr Hoppe said the firm currently employs around 530 and has probably taken on between 40 and 50 people in the last year.

He said there was a shortage of skills in welding and fabricating, with the firm looking to recruit around ten such skilled workers.

“We should be able to find people but you can’t at the moment, and you wonder why,” he added.

Paul Flynn,MPfor Newport West, said the loss of manufacturing jobs was a “major worry for the city.”

He said: “It’s people in the Far East, India, Brazil, that are prospering now because of a long term neglect of the manufacturing industry.”

Number of manufacturing jobs

Council area 2006-07 2010-11 Jobs lost Caerphilly 17,300 13,500 3,800 Blaenau Gwent 7,900 5,300 2,600 Torfaen 7,100 6,300 800 Monmouthshire 4,600 4,400 200 Newport 8,800 7,200 1,600 Gwent 45,700 36,700 9,000

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Grim times for Gwent

HARDLY a week goes by when we are not reminded of how hard Gwent has been hit by the global economic crisis.

According to the GMB Union based on figures it collated from the National Office of Statistics, 9,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in our region between 2006/7 and last year.

Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent were the hardest hit 3,800 and 2,600 losses and 1,600 jobs were lost in Newport, 800 in Torfaen and 200 in Monmouthshire.

The slump in the construction industry seems to be the main cause of job losses in the manufacturing sector.

Even the firm which had won a contract to provide a roof at an Olympic venue is feeling the pinch, making a loss last year and – despite a better start to last year – says it is just ‘keeping its head above water’.

There is no easy solution for how to avoid further and deeper cuts in this sector.

Added to the gloom is the lack of skills in manufacturing and the difficulty in getting people into positions when there are vacancies.

The only glimmer of hope will be when the construction industry is ignited again and we see the return of homes being built and businesses expanding.

And when that will happen is anyone’s guess right now.