Business confidence in the East of England rose by 14 points during August to 64%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds, as more than half of the region’s firms look to hire more staff over the coming year.
Companies in the East reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 19 points at 68%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up nine points at 60%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 64% (vs. 50% in July) – the highest reading of any UK nation or region outside of London.
A net balance of 56% of businesses in the region also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up 21 points on last month.
Looking ahead to the next six months, East of England businesses identified their top target areas for growth as entering new markets (61%), evolving their offering through new products or services (42%) and introducing new technology, such as AI or automation (32%).
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly and which has been running since 2002, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
National picture
Overall, UK business confidence rose two points in August to 54%.
While firms’ confidence in the wider economy dropped three points to 44%, their optimism in their own trading prospects rose five points to 63%.
London was the most confident part of the UK in August (69%), followed by the East of England (64%).
Sector Insights
Manufacturing firms saw confidence up 14 points this month, to 62%. This level was previously seen in 2015. Retailers also saw an increase in confidence this month, with levels up 13 points to 57%, a five-month high. However, construction firms confidence fell by five points to 40%, a four-month low while confidence in service sector firms also fell eight points to 53%.
Kirsty Sadler, regional director for the East of England at Lloyds, said: “It’s encouraging to see such a rise in confidence from East of England firms this month, and for so many businesses to be planning to hire.
“Local firms remain focused on growth and are pursuing ambitious plans. Take Newmarket ceramics manufacturer Almath Crucibles – a supplier to leading global research institutions including CERN and MIT. We recently helped the business acquire its own headquarters, and it is now looking to double its annual turnover over the next four years. We’ll continue to provide similar support to others across the region to help them achieve their goals.”
