Confidence ‘low’ among firms

Scottish business confidence is “low”, but there is some job creation on the horizon, according to new data published today.

Bank of Scotland’s Business Barometer for January – the first carried out on both a Scottish and Uk-wide basis – has revealed that business confidence in Scotland stands at 18 per cent. A net balance of 22 per cent of firms reported being confident in their business’ prospects for 2018 while 13 per cent are optimistic about the outlook for the economy as a whole.

Jane Clark-hutchison, regional director at Bank of Scotland, said: “This latest reading of business confidence mirrors the findings of our most recent Business in Britain report for Scotland, where optimism levels were also low.”

She also said current uncertainty seems to be taking a heavy toll on firms’ outlooks for 2018. Across Scotland, a net balance of 13 per cent of businesses said they felt Brexit was damaging their expectations for business activity, with their main concern being foreign exchange volatility, cited by almost a fifth.

Clark-hutchisonalsoflagged a positive move towards more job-creation, stating: “I hope to see this increase as we progress through the year.”

A net balance of 4 per cent of businesses expect to employ more staff this year, while firms expect an average annual increase in average pay in the region of 1 to 2 per cent.

“This is likely to be paid for by rising prices, with a net balance of 45 per cent of firms saying they expect to charge more for their goods or services throughout 2018,” the lender said.

Across the UK, confidence rose by seven points to a ninemonth high of 35 per cent in January.