The private sector economy in Yorkshire and Humber has grown for a full quarter, a new business survey suggests.
The Yorkshire & Humber PMI Business Activity Index, which measures month-on-month change in the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – came in at 50.4 for September, down from August’s level but still above the 50.o level that denotes economic growth.
The three months of sustained growth comes after a rocky period earlier in the year, when the Yorkshire and Humber economy fared worst of the 12 regions and nations. And despite being still in growth, concerns arose from the PMI as hiring activity fell among local businesses.
Malcolm Buchanan, chair of the NatWest North regional goard, said: “The latest regional growth tracker data for Yorkshire & Humber was pretty mixed. On the one hand, a third successive month of business activity growth is a real positive for the local economy, which has generally lagged the rest of the Ƶ for much of the last 18 months. Another order book boost should give the current upturn further room to run.
“At the same time, local employment levels declined for the first time since April. Job cutting wasn’t a trend unique to just Yorkshire & Humber, however, as several other regions saw headcounts drop.
“Survey comments suggested that efficiency gains were a motivator. In a competitive environment, this is hardly surprising, as companies will look for ways they can give themselves the edge. This is especially true during inflationary periods, and price pressures actually ticked higher in September.”
Yorkshire and Humber businesses reported a further improvement in their new order inflows during September, though the pace of growth slowed markedly and underperformed the Ƶ average. But employment shrank for the first time since April at the end of the third quarter and confidence levels fell to their weakest since June, with some companies citing concerns towards potential Government policy changes.
