The UK manufacturing sector posted a sharp decline in output this month as Britain’s biggest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, suffered a cyber-attack and paused production, a shutdown that will drag on into October.

The business secretary, Peter Kyle, and the industry minister Chris McDonald met employees from JLR and its suppliers on Tuesday as the government assessed the fallout from the cyber-attack, amid calls for financial support for affected businesses.

A monthly survey of purchasing managers at UK manufacturers showed output shrinking at the fastest pace in six months in September, with order books weakening – partly due to the JLR shutdown. This led to a worsening decline across the manufacturing sector, with the headline index at a five-month low.

“There were some specific mentions of lower manufacturing output across the automotive supply chain as a result of plant stoppages at Jaguar Land Rover,” according to the data provider S&P Global, which compiles the closely watched survey.

JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, has extended its pause in production until 1 October, with a knock-on impact on the companies that supply it. Last week, the company had said production would be frozen until at least Wednesday.

Workers have been unable to produce vehicles at any of its factories across the UK, Slovakia, Brazil and India.

Unions have called for a furlough scheme for workers who are suffering because of the shutdown caused by the 31 August cyber-attack.

So far UK ministers have not committed to providing any financial support to help smaller suppliers survive the shutdown, despite reports that JLR has sought emergency support for its suppliers.

The Labour MP for Tipton and Wednesbury, Antonia Bance, warned that an extended pause risked “a disintegration of the entire supply chain into JLR, which means that when JLR stands back up again and is ready to go, and it will do, once it’s got over this cyber-attack, it may be that some of the supply chain isn’t ready to go, if they’ve lost the skilled labour that they rely on, or maybe some of the businesses have gone under”.

She suggested the government could back a loans scheme, similar to the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme, and told the PA Media news agency: “We’re seeing production lines closed across the West Midlands and further afield and suppliers having a real cash crunch.”

Kyle and McDonald visited Webasto, a JLR supplier that makes car roofs, in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

McDonald said: “We have two priorities: helping Jaguar Land Rover get back up and running as soon as possible, and the long-term health of the supply chain.

“The business secretary and I are visiting JLR today to host companies in the supply chain, to listen to workers and hear how we can support them and help get production back online.

“We are acutely aware of the difficulties the stoppage is causing for those suppliers and their staff, many of whom are already taking a financial hit through no fault of their own and we will do everything we can to reassure them that the government is on their side.”

Asked about a furlough scheme, he said: “Now that we’ve got teams of people working at JLR, I feel like we are getting to the point where we are getting to grips with the problem there.

“It’s really important that anything that happens is led by the businesses themselves, rather than saying we should pick a scheme off the shelf and apply that to the entire supply chain, which might help some businesses and not help other businesses.”

JLR is taking the lead on support for its own supply chain, rather than any state intervention.

A JLR spokesperson said: “We have made this decision to give clarity for the coming week as we build the timeline for the phased restart of our operations and continue our investigation.

“Our teams continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) and law enforcement to ensure we restart in a safe and secure manner.

“Our focus remains on supporting our customers, suppliers, colleagues, and our retailers who remain open. We fully recognise this is a difficult time for all connected with JLR and we thank everyone for their continued support and patience.”