In the last quarter of 2017, the survey results showed that whilst there were many business bright spots across Norfolk and the rest of the UK, the evidence showed that growth and confidence remain subdued overall as we entered the new year. Labour and skills shortages also looked set to be the biggest potential drag anchor on business in 2018.
Now we are in the first quarter of 2018 – how are businesses reacting to the current economic climate? Today (Monday 19 February) is the first day of the fieldwork period for the Q1 Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).
It is more important than ever that as many Norfolk businesses as possible complete the survey.
The QES is the largest independent business survey in the UK and is used by both the Bank of England and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to plan the future of the UK economy. It is also closely watched by the International Monetary Fund.
You can have your say by completing the QES online NOW, which takes less than 3 minutes. The completion deadline for this survey is midnight on Monday 12 March 2018.
Some key Norfolk findings in the Q4 2017 survey:
Norfolk Manufacturing sector:
- The balance of firms reporting increased export sales rose from +27 to +31, the lowest since Q4 2016. Export orders remained static +27 to +26. The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales fell from +19 to +17 and domestic orders rose slightly from +21 to +23
- The percentage of manufacturers that attempted to recruit in the last three months remained static at 83%. Of those, 73% had recruitment difficulties. Of these, skilled manual labour was the leading area of recruitment difficulties (79%).
- The percentage of manufacturers expecting their prices to increase jumped from 26% to 54%, standing near historic highs. The price of raw materials remaining the key driver, with 80% reporting it as a cause of price pressure (down slightly from the 82% in Q2 and Q3)
Norfolk Services sector:
- The balance of firms reporting improved export sales fell slightly from +12 to +8, and whilst orders rose from +2 to +6. Domestic sales rose slightly from +14 +16, and also orders from +6 to +10
- The percentage of businesses attempting to recruit remained static at 64%. Of those, the percentage of services firms reporting greater recruitment difficulties rose from 63% to 83%, the highest since records began
- The balance of services firms expecting prices to increase, rose considerably from 33% to 49%, the highest since Q3 2008
