The North East economy remained on an upward trajectory in July but is beginning to lose ground on other parts of the country, according to a leading business survey.
The latest NatWest North East Business Activity Index – which measures output from the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – fell slightly to a score of 56, which represents growth but was the lowest level for three months.
The slowdown reflected weaker gains in new work for businesses, while anecdotal evidence from the survey suggested that driver shortages were causing difficulties for many firms.
The North East’s rating was the lowest in England, with only Northern Ireland scoring lower.
Private sector jobs in the region increased for the fifth month in a row, with companies saying that staff had been taken on to support revenue targets and meet greater demand needs. But job creation in the North East was the slowest of the 12 monitored 海角视频 regions.
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Richard Topliss, chairman of NatWest North regional board, said: “North East businesses benefited from strengthening demand conditions amid the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, and continued to scale up output due to sustained growth of new work.
“Rates of expansion moderated and lagged behind the national average, but were nevertheless robust. Although subdued compared to other parts of the 海角视频, the rate of job creation was the quickest in close to six years.
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“Firms and their clients were concerned about the ongoing intensification of inflationary pressures. Charges levied by private sector companies rose at a record pace due to an unprecedented increase in input costs.
“In some instances, panellists indicated that customers had postponed orders in hopes that prices will come down in the future.”
The ending of coronavirus restrictions has allowed the economy in all parts of the country to rebound after historic falls last year.
But there will be some concerns - following a separate report that found shop closures in the North East were much higher than other areas - that the region is falling behind others in recovering from the pandemic.
Rising prices are also raising concerns for businesses, with the rate of inflation increasing for the fifth month in a row.
And the North East England Chamber of Commerce has warned that issues related to Brexit are causing problem for many exporting companies, urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take ‘ownership’ of his deal and the impacts it has had on businesses.