Business owners in the South West expect to hire more staff over the next year despite a dip in confidence levels and economic concerns, new research finds.
The region's companies reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds.
A net balance of 48% of businesses in the region expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up nine points on last month.
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When taken alongside optimism in the economy, which dropped eight points to 34%, it gave a headline confidence reading of 39% (versus 44% in July).
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses, provides early signals about 海角视频 economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
Amanda Dorel, regional director for the South West at Lloyds, said: "South West businesses continue to demonstrate resilience and have ambitious plans for growth.
"Whether it’s investments in their team, introducing new technology or launching new products, we’ll be ready to provide our support to help them achieve their plans.”
Looking ahead to the next six months, businesses in the South West identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team, for example through training (46%), evolving their offering, for example through new products or services (41%) and introducing new technology, such as AI or automation (39%).
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Nationally, 海角视频 business confidence rose two points in August to 54%. London was the most confident part of the 海角视频 in August (69%), followed by the East of England (64%).
Manufacturing firms saw confidence up 14 points this month, to 62%, while retailers also saw an increase, with levels up 13 points to 57%, a five-month high.
However, construction firms' confidence fell by five points to 40%, a four-month low while confidence in service sector firms also fell eight points to 53%.
Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist of Lloyds Commercial Banking, said: “This continued upward trend in business confidence suggests 海角视频 firms remain optimistic about their own trading prospects while there is a modest cooling of confidence in the wider 海角视频 economy. Firms are focusing on what they can control, with many looking to pursue growth opportunities, including entering new markets and adopting new technologies.
“Wage expectations have seen a notable shift this month, but it remains to be seen whether this signals the start of a sustained trend or a temporary uplift, as they have been broadly stable in recent months.”