Positivity growing for Greater Manchester businesses, survey suggests

Graeme Whitfield
·2-min read

Positivity is growing among businesses in the Greater Manchester area, a new survey suggests.

The latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) from the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce paints a more optimistic picture than the first quarter of the year, with increased sales and growth in both business and consumer confidence. The Greater Manchester Index, a composite indicator made up of key QES measures, has come in at 30.6, a 27-point increase from the previous quarter.

Businesses were still reporting inflation as their main concern, the survey found, particular wage rises. But both domestic and overseas demand had risen for businesses, particularly in northern areas of Greater Manchester.

Read more : record revenues at law firm Weightmans

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Subrahmaniam Krishnan-Harihara, deputy director of research at the Chamber, said: “The first quarter of this year was not a great quarter. In fact, it was the worst for quite some time. This quarter, however, shows consumer confidence is returning and a lot of growth took place since March. We’ve seen a growth in services, and manufacturing and construction are at their highest levels for months.”

He added: “Retail sales saw a turnaround in May and there is more confidence than we have had for some time. People are more willing to spend even though the prices for retail goods are still going up.

“There have been pay rises with big increases in the Living wage and Minimum wage, disposable incomes have gone up and cost of living pressures have eased. We can afford these increases if we are prepared to pay more for goods and services. Confidence is up and recruitment activity has gone up. There are good numbers on recruitment with many employers expecting to increase their workforce.”

The QES results - which were released at the Chamber’s Q2 Economic Review - are the latest to suggest signs of recovery in the North West economy.

Earlier this month the latest regional PMI survey from NatWest suggested firms were feeling more confident about the future, with companies reporting a fourth straight monthly rise in new business.

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