The UK manufacturing sector continued to expand at a marked pace during September, to round off its strongest quarterly performance since the opening quarter of 2011. The labour market also showed further signs of improvement, as the rate of job creation climbed to a 28-month peak. At 56.7 in September, the seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS Purchasing Manager’s Index® (PMI®) remained in expansion territory for the sixth successive month and was little-changed from August’s two-and-a-half year peak of 57.1 (previously reported as 57.2). (full story)