Private sector business activity rises across the UK
Business activity in the private sector rose across all nine regions of the UK at the end of last year, according to the latest Lloyds TSB regional Purchasing Managers' Index.The report revealed that the rise in output was led by Yorkshire and the Humber, with the increase reflecting stronger new business inflows and stimulating higher employment levels in the majority of English regions, to cope with rising workloads.
The data also revealed that input price inflation was little-changed on the month in December and therefore still much lower than at the start of 2011, thanks to reduced cost pressures at manufacturing companies.
Additionally, service providers continued to report relatively strong rises in their costs, primarily linked to greater utility bills and staff wages.
Commenting on the report, John Maltby, group director at Lloyds TSB Commercial, said English regions ended the year with an "encouraging" rebound in output growth and improved levels of incoming new work.
"The majority of regions saw an upturn in private sector employment alongside the latest rise in workloads. The latest survey shows that businesses are moving in the right direction across the English regions," he added.
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Posted by John Oak and Wayne Bly
