Vaccine rollout pushes business confidence to 12 month high
Business confidence has soared to its highest point in a year as the UK pushes forward with its vaccine rollout.
Overall business confidence has increased 13 percentage points to 15 per cent in the last month, according to the Lloyds Business Barometer. It is the highest level recorded since March 2020.
The survey revealed firms’ trading prospects for this year also jumped 10 points to 12 per cent, with 34 per cent of firms anticipating a pick-up in activity.
Additionally hiring activity picked up, returning to positive territory for the first time since the start of the pandemic further reflecting the uptick in business confidence.
The net balance for staffing levels in the next year climbed a further eight points to 4 per cent. Over a quarter of companies anticipate expanding their workforce while 22 per cent expect reductions.
The net balance for staffing levels remained slightly negative in manufacturing (-3 per cent), but services moved upwards to three per cent for the first time since last February.
“It’s been a year since the first lockdown and the surge in confidence this month tells us firms are increasingly confident about economic recovery,” Hann-Ju Ho, Senior Economist, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said.
“The broadly positive outlook is driven by steady vaccine deployment, the roadmap out of lockdown and the extension of government support measures. It will be interesting to see whether the momentum for stronger business optimism is sustained in the months ahead.”