Industrial turnover increased by one per cent in June 2006 compared to the same period last year, while employment, hours worked and total gross wages and salaries fell by 4.4, 6.6 and 5.4 per cent respectively. These figures were released yesterday by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Indicators showed that industrial turnover rose by one per cent in June 2006. The rise reflects the higher turnover generated by the production of intermediate goods, consumer durable goods and consumer non-durable goods. In contrast, turnover in energy registered a fall that was influenced by the timing of issuing bills, while capital goods turnover showed a marginal rise.

Estimates show that employment in industry has fallen by 4.4 per cent compared to June last year. A similar pattern can be observed in all main industrial groupings except for the production of capital goods. The number of hours worked in industry declined by 6.6 per cent over the same period, fuelled by the decline in the groupings producing capital goods, consumer durable goods and non-durable goods. The performance of the capital goods and consumer goods sectors during the period June 2005 to June 2006 have pushed down the gross wages and salaries figure by 5.4 per cent.