The level of industrial new orders within the 27 European Union (EU) nations rose by 5.9 per cent in March 2010 compared with the previous month.

According to the latest figures from Eurostat, this follows a climb of 1.1 per cent in February, while new contracts were up by five per cent exclusive of ships, railway and aerospace equipment.

Within the countries that have adopted the euro, industrial new orders were up 5.2 per cent on the month, compared with an index jump of 1.9 per cent in February.

Over the year to March 2010, such deals have climbed by 20.7 per cent in the EU27 and 19.8 per cent within the eurozone.

The EU statistical agency data may be good news for those seeking engineering jobs in Europe, as they are indicative of improving conditions in the manufacturing sector.

Strong growth has been seen in new orders for both intermediate and capital goods, with the highest rise in total manufacturing working recorded in Denmark, where it was up by 20.6 per cent.

A recent Eurostat report revealed that gross domestic product rose by 0.2 per cent within both the EU27 and the eurozone during the first quarter of 2010 compared with the last three months of 2009, potentially pushing production up further.

Posted by Alex Donnell