Yorkshire business confidence lower than national average

Business confidence in Yorkshire and the Humber is four points below the national average in January.

According to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, companies in Yorkshire report business prospects to be in line with the national average at 39%, but lower economic optimism at 22%.

Together, this gives an overall confidence of 31%, which is below the average across the UK of 35%.

Across the region, a net balance of 12% of businesses feel that the UK’s exit from the European Union is having a negative impact on their expectations for business activity.

Nationally, overall confidence rose seven points to a nine-month high, driven mainly by a rise in firms’ economic optimism.

The Business Barometer provides early signals about UK economic trends and has been run monthly since January 2002. This is the first time that the survey, which questioned 1,200 businesses, has been carried out on a regional as well as national basis.

Steve Harris, regional director for Yorkshire at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “It’s disappointing to see that firms are less optimistic than the UK as a whole. The sentiment felt by Yorkshire businesses contrasts neighbours in the North West, which is one of the most optimistic regions with big employment prospects.

“While firms have a pessimistic outlook to the economy and Brexit, they still seem relatively confident with their expectations to increase business activity.”

Yorkshire businesses’ economic optimism (22%) is nine points lower than the national average of 31%.

Meanwhile, their confidence in their own business prospects (39%) is in line with the national average.

Companies’ hiring intentions show that a net balance of 21% of businesses in the region expect to hire more staff during the next year, while firms expect a median annual increase in average pay in the region of one to two per cent during 2018.