It continued that between January and March, employment in the sampled enterprises declined by a net of 406 employees to 21,360, when compared to the same period the year before. In the Plastic and Rubber Products, 126 employees lost their jobs; the Leather, 120 employees; and the Medical and Precision Equipment, 119 workers.

On the other hand, the Textiles and the Radio, TV and Communications sub-sectors recorded an increase in their employment levels of 225 employees and 195 employees respectively.

In the period under review an amount of around Lm31.7 million was paid out in gross wages and salaries by the sample enterprises; an increase Lm2.5 million over the same period last year.

With regards to the manufacturing sales, NSO said that between January and March 2003, total sales by manufacturing enterprises increased by Lm7.3 million or 3.1 per cent to nearly Lm243.0 million from Lm235.7 million a year earlier.