Business confidence in the North West fell three points during July to 27%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
Companies in the North West reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down nine points at 29%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up three points to 24%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 27%.
North West businesses identified their top target areas for growth in the next six months as evolving their offer (45%), introducing new technology (34%) and investing in their teams (27%).
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
A net balance of 25% of businesses in the region expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up 14 points on last month.
Overall, UK business confidence dipped by six points to 31% in July, with nine out of 11 regions and nations reporting a lower confidence reading month-on-month.
Optimism in the economy has also fallen, dropping 11 points to 21%, the lowest levels since February this year.
However, firms remained resilient in their own trading prospects, with 43% of companies expecting business activity to increase over the next 12 months, up one point on last month and reaching a 14-month high.
Despite the fall in overall confidence, levels remain higher than the survey’s long-term average reading of 28% and every UK region and nation reported a positive confidence reading in July. The North East reported the highest levels of business confidence at 43% (down four points on last month), followed by Yorkshire (down seven points month-on-month) and the West Midlands (up two points month-on-month) both at 38%.
Retail was the only broad sector registering higher confidence (up six points to 35%), mostly reflecting stronger transport services.
The fall in overall business confidence this month was led by the service sector sentiment falling by seven points to 30%.
While the fall in confidence was seen broadly across this sector, hospitality firms appeared to be more resilient.
Confidence also was lower in manufacturing (down 16 points to 34%) and construction (down eight points to 31%).
