End of the beginning as firms feel the recession 'less bad'
Apr 15 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal
:: Click here to take part in our Budget survey
FEWER North East companies are looking to cut staff than six months ago as they prepare themselves to battle through the remains of the recession.
The main message of the latest North East Business Barometer appears to be that the downturn is bottoming out, although there is a long way to go before the economy is back on track.
The bi-annual nebusiness survey conducted by Newcastle Business School of companies in our Top 250 gives some cause for hope.
The proportion of businesses expecting to maintain or expand their workforce is up to 80% compared with 50% in November, although almost three-quarters describe their view of the general business climate as pessimistic, up from 33% last November.
The new data also show 52.5% of respondents expect turnover to fall this year, compared with 42% last November.
The Bank of England’s efforts to kick-start the economy by cutting interest rates to a historic low of 0.5% appear to have had little effect on North East businesses with almost six out of 10 saying that had made no impact, while fewer than three in 10 experienced a beneficial effect.
And Government attempts to free the flow of credit also appear to be have had little effect in the region, with 62.5% of respondents identifying credit constraints as holding back expansion plans. More than four out of 10 view this as one of the main risks to their business.
