Business confidence ‘plummets’
Last updated 11:45, Tuesday, 05 August 2008
BUSINESS confidence has fallen in every region of the country, while the outlook for manufacturing firms is downbeat.
The CBI said cost pressures on industry remained “intense”, and activity in the manufacturing sector was expected to be “slow” in the coming months.
A survey of more than 500 firms showed expectations for orders in the coming months among companies in Scotland and the West Midlands were at their most pessimistic for several years.
Most regions reported falls in orders in recent months, although exports increased.
The number of manufacturing jobs were cut in the past few months, although at their slowest pace since 2004, boosted by rising employment in Wales and the East Midlands, said the report.
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