Business activity in the North West saw another slight decline last month – but the latest NatWest Growth Tracker shows firms are more upbeat about the future.
The tracker’s headline North West Business Activity Index, which measures output in goods and services, stood at 49.6 in October – an improvement on the 47.6 reported in September, but still below the key 50 figure that separates growth from contraction and below the Ƶ average of 52.2.
The North West saw slower declines in new orders and in employment, with businesses that saw declining activity reporting subdued demand and market uncertainty. Firms did report rising costs, driven by wage pressures and a weaker pound, but inflation was at its weakest level for a year.
Firms in the region also reported a slight improvement in their expectations for the year ahead.
NatWest said workforce numbers in the North West private sector fell “fractionally”, showing their slowest reduction since a wider decline in employment began last October.
That result was in line with much of the rest of the Ƶ. Only London, Northern Ireland and the North East recorded higher employment, though NatWest said “rates of job creation were marginal in each case”.
Half of the 12 Ƶ nations and regions monitored by NatWest’s survey recorded greater intakes of new work in October. Optimism was highest in London and the South East.
Malcolm Buchanan, chair of the NatWest North Regional Board, said: "The North West started the fourth quarter on a more stable footing. Challenges persisted, but the latest figures were more encouraging on the whole than the month before.
"Business expectations have crept up, with local firms generally forecasting growth in the year ahead.
"The latest data indicated that companies were more content to hold on to staff than in previous months, with employment falling only slightly in October.
"We also saw a welcome slowdown in the rate of increase in costs faced by businesses. Hopefully this trend can continue in the coming months to take some of the pressure off businesses and consumers alike."
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