Norwich City Council have released their latest economic barometer. The report highlighted:
Locally
- Lloyds Bank Regional PMI survey showed that business activity in the East grew more quickly than the UK average.
- The weak pound continued to have an effect on costs with the average price for raw materials, salaries and fuel rising at a fast pace.
- More new companies were registered in Norfolk and Suffolk during 2016. Those registered in Norfolk rose by 5.8%.
- Work is underway on a new 25-acre site to extend Sweetbriar Retail Park – this should create between 60-90 new jobs.
Nationally
- UK Manufacturing sector experienced solid growth of production and new orders during February.
- UK construction companies recorded improved activity in February, which civil engineering replacing house building as the main growth driver.
- UK Service sector continued to grow, but growth had ease possible due to more cautious consumer expenditure
- The number of people on zero-hours contracts has reached a record high of 910,000 – this is an increase of 14% from 2015 to 2016.
For full details of the latest economic barometer click here.
