It seems that not a day goes by without there being another headline about the cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation or the perilous state of the nation’s finances. Post-pandemic optimism has quickly been replaced by financial pessimism as a series of global events have had an impact on the economic outlook.
Until recently, the UK manufacturing sector seemed to have escaped the worst of these woes, with figures showing slow but steady growth month on month.
However, this expansion slowed to a seven-month low in May. A significant part of this is the consumer goods industry, where production fell for the first time in 15 months.
