Last updated: 17th February 2012

The UK is now the fourth largest car maker in Europe behind Germany, France and Spain, building 1.34m vehicles last year, up 6% on 2010.

METALRAX finance director Caroline Green says Britain’s manufacturers are now competing effectively with rivals in countries such as China and there are signs that the offshoring trend is reversing.

Green, who joined the Alvechurch-based engineering plc in 2008, said: “The UK is the sixth largest manufacturer by output in the world and it amounts to 12 per cent of employment in the West Midlands.

The latest report from the REC/KPMG on jobs has shown that there was a modest rise in permanent staff appointments for the first time in four months during January.

The key points of the report were:
• Modest increase in permanent appointments recorded.
• Temp billings down slightly.
• Candidate availability rises, but at slower rate.
• Subdued pay pressure.

Recruitment consultants reported a slower increase in job vacancies during January. Growth of overall demand for staff eased to the weakest for 27 months. The availability of staff to fill job vacancies continued to rise in January. However, growth of both permanent and temporary/contract staff availability eased from the strong rates recorded in December.

Commenting on the report Kevin Green, chief executive at the REC said: “This is the first positive indicator for some time that employers are looking to hire staff despite the ongoing weakness of the economy. It is particularly encouraging that six out of eight sectors surveyed show growth in demand, including engineering”