TENS of thousands of manufacturing jobs will be lost across the country by the end of June because of a renewed downturn in the sector, with the most rapid decline in the North West, a gloomy report predicted today.

Up to 86,000 posts could be axed in the first six months of the year, with firms in every region except Scotland warning of continued cutbacks.

The CBI said its survey of 937 companies showed that the most rapid decline in jobs was expected in the North West.

The new decline in manufacturing was being driven by a sharp deterioration in domestic demand as weak global trading conditions spread to the home market, said the CBI.

For the first time in more than two years no region of the UK recorded an increase in orders for goods over the previous four months.

The worst declines in orders were in the North West, East Midlands and Eastern England, with only Northern Ireland avoiding a downturn, with orders remaining unchanged.

Doug Godden, the CBI's Head of Economic Analysis, said: "These figures will be hugely worrying to every region in the country.

"Waning domestic demand and economic uncertainty have dented confidence everywhere.

"The Bank of England must give the economy a boost with a rate cut on Thursday. There remains little danger from inflation."