The UK’s manufacturing sector has ‘turned a corner’ and showing signs of growth, according to the CIPS/Markit Index for October.

The index posted a reading of 53.7 in October, to move back above the 50.0 no-change mark and reached its highest level since November 2007, while the 3.8 upsurge in the PMI from September’s revised figure of 49.9 marked the third greatest in the series’ history.

Staffing levels declined for the 18th successive month in October, while firms linked lower employment to cost control initiatives and redundancies, but the rate of decline was the slowest since June 2008.

David Noble, chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, says:“It appears that the manufacturing sector has turned a corner and is starting to pull itself out of recession. After this long and deep downturn, manufacturers are now reporting strong growth in both output and new orders.

“However, the sector has been so hard hit since the recession began that it will be a long time before it returns to its previous level.  Manufacturing is still fragile and will be highly vulnerable for some time to come.”