BUSINESSES across the North East continue to see growth despite the country falling back into recession and ongoing crisis in the Eurozone.

The first half of this year has seen the largest increase in business positivity since 2008, according to the North East Chamber of Commerce’s (NECC) quarterly economic survey (QES), even though this quarter could not maintain the outstanding growth levels of quarter 1, 2012.

The survey also shows that regional service sector growth is now outpacing the North East’s highly successful manufacturers for the first time since the beginning of the recession.

Domestic business continues to be flat and there has been a drop in export sales growth, which is below the six-year high seen in Q1 2012.

But, with the exception of the previous quarter, scores remain higher than at any time since early 2008, showing the North East business community in relatively robust health despite the challenging economic climate.

NECC director of policy, Ross Smith, said: “It must be remembered that these figures arrive on the back of an incredibly strong performance in manufacturing exports, and continued positivity on recruitment and investment shows manufacturers are still confident of their underlying growth prospects.

“It is also reassuring that our service sector continues to build on last quarter’s improvement, with growth now outstripping manufacturing, although it remains the bedrock of the regional recovery.”