East Midlands Chamber has reacted positively to 0.4% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the latest estimated figures published by the Office for National Statistics, after zero growth was reported last month.
Director of Policy and Insight Richard Blackmore said: “Once again, all economic indicators we have are painting an encouraging growth story. The latest rise is higher than most economists had forecast and good to see after there was no movement last month; in addition, we’ve seen 0.9% growth in GDP over the three months up until May. The figures are further bolstered by our own research here in the East Midlands. Six out of ten businesses that participated in our Quarterly Economic Survey said they expected turnover to increase and half anticipated profitability to follow suit.
“With inflation easing too, all eyes will be on the Bank of England and whether we’ll see a reduction in interest rates. While these numbers give strong reassurance of a brighter economic climate, the underlying challenges facing businesses in the East Midlands are still very much with us with price pressures, a need for investment in the region and improvement to infrastructure. We’ve clearly outlined the asks for the region in our Manifesto for Growth 2024 which is a blueprint laying down all the things we need to enable the region to thrive.”
