Welsh businesses have seen a big jump in confidence over the past three months, according to the latest ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor™ (BCM). More firms are reporting that they are operating at full capacity compared to the same time last year.
Q2 2018 Key Findings:
- Confidence among Welsh businesses is standing at +15.1
- The proportion of businesses operating below capacity is trending downwards
- In Q2 2017 – 66% of companies reported being below capacity — this has now fallen to 39% in the current quarter
- This is in part a reflection of continued domestic sales growth — rising 3.8% over the last 12 months
- There is growing concern over staff turnover and the availability of non-management skills
- Businesses appear to be addressing these issues through increased wage growth of 2.3% and a rise in their headcounts.
Martin Warren, Director of ICAEW Wales said:
“It’s very positive to see this significant rise in confidence among business right across Wales. The continued improvement in domestic sales is also a strong indicator that the economy is continuing to grow, albeit slowly. Unsurprisingly, the arrival of GDPR means ‘regulation’ is the strongest and most widely reported growing challenge facing businesses. Companies are also having to address the issue of increasing staff turnover by increasing wages. As this starts to take effect, hopefully businesses will be able to attract more workers to management roles”