Umbrella contractors are having to cope with conflicting messages about consumer confidence in the UK.
After the Bank of England held the base interest rate at 0.5% for yet another month, Ian McCafferty, the chief economic adviser at the CBI, said the decision was understandable. The Bank is in an unenviable position as inflation edges higher and questions over the speed of economic growth persist.
Some sectors are confident of brighter prospects but consumer confidence remains low. The Bank is probably waiting to see further signs of economic recovery before raising rates, he concluded.
The latest BCC Quarterly Economic Survey suggests that growth is returning to the economy but cashflow problems and high prices are having an adverse effect on businesses.
The Interim Management Association recently reported a 25% decrease in the number of new assignments last year. Things started to pick in the final quarter of 2010 but the gap between demand for private and public sector interim managers continued to close. In 2006, the demand ratio stood at 70% private sector: 30% public sector. By last year that had narrowed to 52:48.
Meanwhile, new insolvency data from Experian shows that there was a year-on-year decline in the number of businesses declared insolvent last month.
The total number of insolvencies decreased by 12.5% this February compared to February last year. Scotland had the lowest insolvency rate at 0.6%.
The MD of Experian pH, Mark Firth, said whilst the insolvency rates for both smaller and larger enterprises are improving, midsized firms are still recording the same month on month rates.
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