SPENDING by manufacturing companies and the internationally-traded sector of the economy directly supports 218,000 jobs, the chief executive of Forfas, Mr John Travers, has stated.

And as well as the jobs supported directly, Mr Travers said ESRI research showed that every 10 jobs in the manufacturing sector were associated with a further nine jobs in secondary services.

Commenting on a Forfas survey which measures the impact of spending by the manufacturing and internationally-traded sectors in Ireland, Mr Travers said the survey showed the economic impact was represented by:

(1) spending on wages and salaries of £4.2 billion in 1994, an increase of 10.5 per cent on the previous year;

(2) spending on raw materials in Ireland amounting to £7.3 billion in 1994 and;

(3) spending on Irish services of £4 billion in 1994.

The survey indicated increases in productivity in the sectors surveyed, said Mr Travers. While spending on wages and salaries rose by 10.5 per cent in 1994, the average wage and salary increase per employee was 7.4 per cent. "This slower increase per employee reflects a continuing rise in the productivity of the manufacturing and services sectors," he said.

Purchasing of Irish services by the manufacturing sector grew by almost 33 per cent between 1988 and 1994, said the Forfas survey. "This growth is evidence of the increasing importance of services in the Irish economy and suggests a potential for significant future growth," said the report.

The survey also showed that the export orientation of Irish-owned industry had continued to increase and in 1994 accounted for more than 44 per cent of sales. These varied from just above 12 per cent in the case of non-metallic minerals to more than 59 per cent in the case of chemicals and more than 69 per cent in the case of textiles.