New jobs hope as Scottish business confidence rises

Firmssay they expect to hire more staff this year

More Scottish firms are planning to recruit after a sharp rise in business confidence north of the border.

The monthly Business Barometer study from the Bank of Scotland found renewed optimism in the private sector in February.

The survey takes in the views of more than 1,200 businesses and is designed to provide early signs about the direction of travel of the economy in Scotland across the UK as a whole.

The Scottish figures for February show a marked change in sentiment from the prior month, with overall confidence rising by 17 points to 35%.

The surge puts Scotland marginally ahead of the wider UK ranking of 33%.

There was also a rise in Scottish firms reporting higher confidence in their business prospects – up 15% to 37% – and 27% of Scottish firms now expect to hire more staff this year, a 23% month-onmonth surge.

Fraser Sime, regional director at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking, said it was encouraging confidence was rising north of the border but he said the findings did not necessarily reflect the whole picture.

“While notably higher than in January, firms’ overall confidence and their hiring intentions are now only in line with the average across the UK,” Mr Sime said.

“As such, these figures reflect a return to cautious optimism for Scottish businesses, which is understandable given the economic uncertainty they still face.”