MORE than 9,000 manufacturing jobs have been shed across East Lancashire in five years.

The figures -- part of an overall figure of 165,000 traditional jobs lost in 75 years -- were used to highlight the continued need for schemes to attract service and white collar jobs to the area.

The number of people employed in factories -- traditionally East Lancashire's main source of employment -- slumped 9,100 to just 57,000 in the five years up to 2003, the latest figures available.

That's down from 220,000 in the area's industrial heyday of the 1930s.

Since 2003 other firms have also confirmed they are quitting East Lancashire as cheaper workforces in Eastern Europe, Africa and China make continuing production in this area harder to justify.

The figures, produced by Lancashire County Council's economic development unit reveal:

l The number of people employed in agriculture has fallen by a quarter following the foot and mouth crisis, with 1,100 still employed

l Numbers working in public administration and defence has fallen from 9,200 to 6,300 in the last five years, a drop of 31 per cent

l Jobs in education have risen 48.2 per cent, from 13,200 to 19,600

l 9,100 people are now employed in construction, up 23.1 per cent from 7,400 in 1999

l Hotels and restaurants now employ 10 per cent more people, 10,600 from 9,500, than in 1999

l More people work in health care, business services, transport and communication and retail than in 1999

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Overall, the number of people employed in East Lancashire has risen 3.6 per cent in five years, from 198,300 to 205,400.

Coun Andy Kay, whose regeneration portfolio at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "The sad fact is it is becoming increasingly difficult for manufacturing firms to remain in the UK because of the cheaper costs abroad.

"That is why it is so important we attract a wider variety of jobs to the area, including white-collar and well paid employment, to ensure the economy remains viable."

Since the 1930s, virtually all of East Lancashire's textile manufacturers have quite the area. One of the last, Hilden Manufacturing, announced in December it was scrapping around 100 jobs with production going abroad.

Other firms, such as Leoni -- also known as Rists in Accrington -- have switched abroad, while companies like Prestige, based in Burnley, went into receivership as they struggled to compete with overseas imports.

The Prestige site is now a Sainsbury's supermarket.