Business booming for West Mids private sector, says PMI
The region's private sector reported a rise in growth, orders and recruitment last month, according to the latest PMI survey.
The Lloyds TSB-sponsored purchasing managers' index (PMI) – which tracks the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – stood at 54.0, up from 53.8 in November.
This was the highest level reached in five months, which the survey said was indicative of a "robust pace of expansion".
Supporting the faster rise in output was a sharper increase in incoming new orders. Outstanding business also grew for the first time in 11 months, albeit only marginally.
West Midlands companies responded to this increase by recruiting additional workers in December, helping employment to rise at a moderate pace following a decline in the previous month.
David Garbutt, area director for Lloyds TSB Commercial in the West Midlands, said: "The West Midlands ended 2011 on a positive note, continuing to outperform the UK overall in December. Underpinning the latest solid output growth was a strong and accelerated rise in new business, the fastest of all the UK regions.
"Another positive development was a return to employment growth, as companies added new staff in response to the upturn in workloads. A strong service sector performance was again the main driver of the region’s expansion during December."
