The MET industries are experiencing extremely challenging times. Many factors account for the current economic climate we are facing; however, the several wars, the fallout from the COVID-19 Pandemic, political instability and an extremely tight labour market are paramount among them. Unfortunately, many of these challenges have been exacerbated by factors such as the green and digital transitions.
Increasing energy costs and high inflation alongside supply chain problems are creating drags on economic growth. Despite several plans and the adaptability of MET companies, the uncertainty due to the geopolitical context makes it difficult to predict future economic trends. That is why the MET economists are of the opinion that our sector entered recession in 2025 & 2026.
MET economic figures 2025
In recent years, the shining light of our sector was without doubt the employment figures, where, despite the COVID-19 Pandemic and the current geopolitical situation, figures remain stable. However, this year has been marked by the decline of the figures of the employment figures, partly due to the crisis of the automotive sector. In 2023, 92,000 fewer people were employed in the MET Industries than in 2024 (- 0.6%) The current employment levels in the EU countries remain at over 15.8 million workers in 2024.
In 2023, MET industries were able to partially recover from the health and geopolitical situation, with an 8% increase in total exports (in value terms). They have increased their exports by 23% over the period 2021-2023. However, in 2024, only the United Kingdom has been in a better position, as it exports more and more outside the EU. In 2020, production within our sector fell off a cliff. However, the preliminary value of production in the MET sector has thankfully turned a corner from this detrimental decrease of 11.6%. Current preliminary production values for 2021 stand at €3,365 billion. In 2024, it was a gloomy year, the MET industries in some countries were able to observe that value-added, i.e. the wealth produced during the production process, which reflects the additional value contributed by the company, through its activity (labour), to the goods and services coming from third parties, is more efficient despite the fall in the volume of production.
In most Ceemet members’ countries, the annual average hours worked per capita in the manufacturing industry was reduced in comparison with the 2008/2009 pre-crisis period. In the MET industries, the annual average hours worked per capita shows a significant variability between countries.
From 2021 to 2023, productivity has recovered due to base effects. However, the sharp decline in production in 2024 (-1.6%) led to a new significant decline in productivity and worsened the EU’s difficult competitive situation.
The latest investment data from 2020 shows that because of the covid-crisis things took a turn for the worse. Nevertheless, we have preliminary data showing a quick recovery already in 2021. If forecasts are accurate, pre-pandemic levels were surpassed in 2023. Despite optimistic predictions for 2024 and 2025, these have been revised downwards. Investment has fallen drastically, even though the MET industries continued to spend €182bn in research and development (R&D). Total MET R&D spend at EUR 120bn in 2022 (change partially explained by measurement differences between Eurostat and OECD). Germany and France, the UK and Italy accounted 73% of the total MET R&D expenditure in 2022. MotorVehicles accounted for 35% of MET R&D spend, followed by Electronics at 20% and MechanicalEquipment at 17%. MET companies therefore, represent 45% of the R&D spend for the entire economy.
Labour costs within the EU manufacturing industries have been steadily increasing since 2017. Previous to this, they increased until 2016, but at a slower pace than before the 2008/2009 crisis, owing to reduced inflation. The average hourly labour cost in the EU in 2020 was about €28.6; during the same period, the per-hour cost in the Eurozone was about €35.