Growth in the North East’s private sector picked up last month and hiring activity hit its highest level for three years, according to an influential business survey.
The latest NatWest Growth Tracker – which measures month-on-month change in the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – said companies in the region were seeing stronger demand. Price pressures edged up slightly, it said, but that did not stop firms displaying higher confidence in their outlook for the year ahead.
The tracker’s score of 53.0 for September was an increase on the 51.2 recorded in August, with the improving conditions above the national average. A score above 50 denotes growth in the economy.
New business placed with North East firms increased for the sixth month in a row, and it was among the fastest of the 12 monitored Ƶ regions and nations. Companies in the region noted robust optimism for the coming year based on hopes of new client wins and new product launches.
The local rate of job creation was the fastest seen since November 2021, with job creation in the North East the second-strongest across the Ƶ, behind only Northern Ireland.
Malcolm Buchanan, chair of the NatWest North Regional Board, said: “The North East region saw overall operating conditions strengthen at the end of the third quarter of 2024 as companies signalled another solid rise in business activity. The rate of expansion was the most pronounced for four months and largely fuelled by a steeper rise in new business.
“Positive trends here encouraged private sector firms to continue to raise employment levels during September, pushing job creation to the highest in close to three years.”
