The region saw the sharpest rise in business activity for almost six years as lockdown lifted, figures released today show.
Yorkshire and Humber saw a lift of 10.7 points on NatWest’s seasonally adjusted index - higher than the national average, and the biggest since August 2014.
The first private sector expansion since March, it was driven by a broad-based increase in output, led by manufacturing, with a “nascent recovery in demand” highlighted in the PMI statistics.
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Richard Topliss, chair of the NatWest North regional board, said: “July PMI data indicated that the Yorkshire & Humber private sector economy is starting to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Activity rose at the sharpest rate for almost six years, driven by a rebound in new orders. “Sentiment towards future output continued to improve, which suggests the decline in employment may begin to ease, as firms will likely start hiring again as the outlook becomes clearer.
“However, the marked increase in activity should not be mistaken for a return to normality. Given the unprecedented contraction recorded at the height of this crisis, output needs to grow a lot further before it reaches pre-coronavirus levels.”
Following June’s marginal increase, new orders placed with regional firms rose markedly in July. Latest data pointed to the sharpest improvement in demand conditions for nearly two-and-a-half years as businesses continued to reopen.
Despite higher activity and improving demand conditions, businesses continued to pare back their staff numbers in July. Moreover, the rate of workforce contraction accelerated from June and was sharp overall. The decrease in employment was broadly in line with that seen at the national level.
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While volumes of outstanding work continued to slide as they have since October 2018, the past month saw the softest fall for a year, second only behind the West Midlands.
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Following the first increase for three months during June, input prices faced by Yorkshire and Humber businesses rose further in July. The rate of inflation accelerated to the quickest since February and was solid overall. It was, however, softer than the 海角视频 average, with only London recording a slower rise in cost burdens. When explaining higher input prices, panellists often mentioned a recovery in demand conditions.
Average prices charged by private sector companies in Yorkshire & Humber were unchanged at the start of the third quarter, following a negligible increase in June. However, there were contrasting results at the sub-sector level, with a modest increase at manufacturers offsetting a decrease at service providers. At the national level, output prices rose slightly and for the first time in five months.