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More bad news

More bad news for the Welsh economy, this time from the Royal Bank of Scotland’s purchasing managers index (PMI) for October.

Its business activity index posted 38.9, down from 42.0 in September and also below October’s UK average of 42.4 (50 denotes neutral and anything below denotes negativity).

This follows news at the end of last week that 90 jobs are being lost at Wacker Neuson factory in Tredegar, Northern Automotive Systems losing 99 jobs in Gilwern, Abergavenny, and Rockwool based at Pencoed, Bridgend is cutting its workforce by 80 employees.

Other findings from the survey shows that:
  • New business orders shrank at a record pace
  • Companies chose to streamline their operations through job cuts, with private sector employment falling for a 13th successive month
  • Input costs continued to rise but the rate of increase was significantly less than the rates recorded earlier this year.

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