Insider Media Limited

The pace of recovery from the recession has eased and business confidence in Birmingham has slumped, according to a survey published today.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, which commissioned the report, said there was “little prospect” of Birmingham’s position at the top of the unemployment league among core cities being threatened.

Manufacturers reporting increased home sales in the third quarter dipped from 49 per cent in Q2 to 37 per cent. Advance orders were also down 43 per cent to 39 per cent.

Exports faired little better with firms increasing sales down to 33 per cent from 49 per cent. Only 32 per cent, against 43 per cent in the previous quarter, were reporting fuller order books.

However, statistics from the labour market said that only 27 per cent of companies recorded an increased workforce and only 18 per cent expected to take on more people over the next three months.

Will Rogers, the chamber’s policy adviser, said: “Unemployment in Birmingham stands at 11.6 per cent – the highest among core cities in the UK. It is extremely worrying that only 18 per cent said they had increased their workforce in the past three months and it represents a drop of 13 per cent.

“Very few businesses expect to be recruiting in the next three months. After increases in successive quarters, this setback can be directly linked to falling business confidence and we will be looking for an improvement in the final quarter of the year.”