Businesses in the East Midlands appear to be clawing back some of the revenue lost at the height of the downturn according to new research, but jobs are still being lost.
The latest East Midlands Chamber survey suggests that one-in-10 companies have cut staff in the last three months as cashflows suffered.
But it said around 6 per cent of businesses expect their workforces to grow over the next three months, with more planning to step up investment and expecting turnover and profits to get better in the year ahead.
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Some 470 businesses across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire took part in the chamber’s quarterly economic survey.
Other key findings showed the decline in sales that some businesses were facing had improved since the height of lockdown, while the service sector slightly outperformed manufacturing – with North American the top performer in terms of improving exports.
Following big drops in investment intentions over the summer, around a quarter are now revising their spending plans upwards with the same number revising downwards.
More than a third said cashflow had got worse with around a quarter saying it has got better.
Chris Hobson, director of policy and external affairs at East Midlands Chamber, said: “Given everything that has taken place over the past six months, the economy across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire is in decent shape.
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“海角视频 market activity recovered from historic lows to return to positive territory for advanced orders and bookings, albeit only just, with export markets not too far behind.
“While the figures showed large numbers of businesses reducing their workforce size over the past three months, we also saw four in 10 employers looking to recruit to new roles and a further one in four expecting overall increases in the workforce over the coming quarter.
“This, along with the positive investment intentions and sentiment – which is important as it guides decision-making – is encouraging, although the continuing cashflow worries perhaps dents the ability for more businesses to invest.
“Given everything the country has been through, given the uncertainty that still exists and given the new ground we find ourselves on, these results should give some heart to people.
“There is still a long way to go – and as we discovered in March this year – things can change quickly, but the economy as a whole is not as bad as perhaps many feared.
“Looking by sector, manufacturers – such an important part of the East Midlands economy – have been slower to recover, while some in logistics or IT have performed strongly off the back of a growth in online retail and remote working.
“By geography, Derbyshire businesses have not performed as strongly, although this may be partially explained by a higher number of manufacturers.
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“Many of the services in our city and town centres have struggled, whereas those able to shift to online or remote ways of service provision have fared better.
“In short, our 470 responses detail 470 different experiences and this poses tough questions around how we ensure continued support can be targeted to those that would most benefit, and how the positive learnings and ways of working that many have taken from the past six months can be built upon.
“Importantly, we need to harness our regional strengths without undermining the diversity of businesses, which we know gives us extra resilience.
“The chamber will ensure these discussions take place over the coming quarter and that we involve the real experiences of our members in them.”