Good news – UK Business confidence is on the up!
27th June 2017Tony Freeman looks at a survey which have revealed that business confidence in the UK is rising.
A report by Lloyds Bank surveyed the views of 1,500 UK companies in May 2017, just after the general election was called.
The average for the confidence index in the 25 years the report has been compiled is 23%. The net balance of companies from the report conducted in May 2017 said they had found it difficult to find skilled labour in the past six months hit a 10-year high of 52%.
This was a positive rise of 31% in January 2017 when the last report was released. The share of firms facing similar issues with unskilled workers also rose to 26%, up from 14%.
In another report, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) revealed results of its Quarterly Economic Survey, based on more than 7,300 responses from firms across the UK in Q1 2017.
The survey revealed the manufacturing sector performed strongly in the first quarter of the year, particularly in the exports market.
However, the survey revealed the status quo in the here and now with rising overheads and raw material costs present a risk to growth in the medium term.
In the shorter term many firms appear confident with strong expectations, however, the medium-term projection is not so clear.
The rise in inflation since last years’ EU referendum is the biggest immediate pressure facing firms.
The BCC, a business group which represents thousands of small and medium-sized companies, says annual GDP growth will not exceed 1.5% by 2020, and inflation could end up being higher than expected.
For more information visit http://www.britishchambers.org.uk.