Shropshire business confidence 'brittle' amid cost-of-living fears
Business confidence remains brittle in Shropshire as cost-of-living concerns and recruitment troubles continue to weigh heavily on the minds of many employers.
They are key findings of the latest economic outlook produced by the British Chambers of Commerce.
The BCC has marginally upgraded its GDP forecast for this year to 0.4 per cent, but says it expects economic activity to remain very week for the next couple of years.Its quarterly economic forecast says business confidence has begun levelling off after a brighter start to the year.
Shropshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ruth Ross said: “There is no doubt that business confidence remains brittle across many parts of our economy, and the labour market is still very tight.
“The cost of doing business continues to weigh heavily on the minds of business owners. There is no doubting the fact that many SMEs are struggling to rebuild confidence after three years of economic shocks.”
The BCC believes the UK economy is set to avoid a technical recession, but says growth will be ‘so feeble that it will be hard to spot the difference’.
Shropshire Chamber has launched its latest quarterly economic survey to gauge the views of the county’s business community.
The anonymous survey – which is open to all businesses, whether or not they are members of the Chamber – is collecting information about trading conditions during the latest quarter of this year.
Ruth added: “The results are used by multiple Government departments, as well as the Bank of England, to understand the business climate. Every business voice matters - the louder we shout, the greater the impact we can have.”
The BCC report says the current consistently low economic growth is comparable to previous periods of economic shocks and recessions such as the oil crises of the 1970s and financial crash of 2008.
But despite the gloomy economic outlook, it says average earnings are now expected to grow more strongly over the next three years, with 5.5 per cent growth in 2023 and 3.5 per cent in 2024 and 2.5 per cent in 2025.
The latest Shropshire survey, which questions employers on a range of key issues including cashflow, sales, skills, recruitment, training, investment, and business confidence cane be found at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ShropChamberQESQ3-2023.
