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 EAST MIDLANDS BUSINESS CONFIDENCE REMAINS STRONG DESPITE DIP

EAST MIDLANDS BUSINESS CONFIDENCE REMAINS STRONG DESPITE DIP

Business confidence in the East Midlands remains high at 31% despite falling for the first time since January 2021, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. 

 

Lloyds Bank’s Business Barometer for June 2021 shows:

  • Business confidence in the East Midlands remains positive at 31% despite first dip since the turn of the year
  • Hiring intentions remain strong with 18% of firms planning to create jobs in next 12 months
  • UK business confidence remains steady at 33% with all regions and nations reporting a net positive reading for the third consecutive month

 

Business confidence in the East Midlands remains high at 31% despite falling for the first time since January 2021, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. 

Companies in the East Midlands reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down five points at 26%.  When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down 11 points to 37%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 31%.

The Business Barometer questions 1,200 businesses monthly and provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.

When it comes to jobs, a net balance of 18% of businesses in the region expect to increase staff levels over the next year, down seven points on last month.

Overall UK business confidence remained steady month-on-month at 33%. Firms reported a small increase in their business prospects, up two points to 30%, the highest reading since September 2020. Confidence in the economy dipped marginally by two points to 36%.

Across the UK all regions and nations reported positive confidence readings for the third consecutive month. Businesses in Scotland (up 27 points to 42%), London (up 17 points to 41%) and the East of England (up ten points to 36%) reported the highest increases in overall confidence.

While confidence remained positive, firms in eight regions reported a month-on-month drop. The East Midlands was among the regions with the biggest decreases, alongside Yorkshire and Humber (down 14 points to 30%), the West Midlands (down 12 points to 29%), and the North West (down nine points to 29%).

Amanda Dorel, regional director for the East Midlands at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said:

“Businesses in the East Midlands will have been affected by the anticipated decision to delay the full easing of restrictions. However, confidence is still positive and the outlook remains optimistic, with many hoping that next month will bring the long-awaited return to business as usual.

“As businesses look to navigate the ongoing restrictions and tentatively begin to look to the future, we will be by their side to offer the support they need, come what may.”

The majority of responses were given before the various UK governments formally announced the delay to the removal of all limits on social contact, which was originally expected to happen on 21st June in England and close to that date in other parts of the UK. However, it is likely that anticipation of the delay may have had a small negative impact in confidence particularly in the retail sector (down eight points to 36%) while manufacturing also fell (down 18 points to 35%). Despite this, confidence remains at historically high levels across the broad industry sectors – in part due to services increasing by five points (31%) to its highest level in more than three years and construction remaining steady at 35%.

Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said:

“A fifth consecutive monthly increase in trading prospects and employment expectations highlights the resilience of UK businesses as they continue to recover from the challenges presented by the pandemic. Although we must now wait slightly longer for the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions to ease, it’s an encouraging sign that firms continue to have strong overall confidence in the outlook for the UK economy, as well as their expectations for their own growth prospects.”


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