Business confidence in Scotland is at its highest rate since July despite a “challenging economy”.
The latest Bank of Scotland Business Barometer showed that companies reported higher confidence in their own prospects, up eight percentage points month on month to 30%.
When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, which was up 30 percentage points to 16%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 24%.
The survey was conducted between 1 and 15 November, before the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, among 1,200 companies – including 100 in Scotland.
Businesses identified top target areas for growth, including investing in their teams, evolving their offering and introducing new technology.
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Some 8% of businesses expect to increase staff levels over the next year, down eight points on last month.
On a UK level, 14% of firms hope to create new jobs in the next 12 months.
Overall UK business confidence fell five points during November, but remained positive at 10%.
Firms’ outlook on their future trading prospects was down two points to 25% and their optimism in the wider economy dropped four points to -2%.
Chris Lawrie, area director for Bank of Scotland, said: “It’s encouraging to see confidence among firms in Scotland reach the highest in the UK as they show their trademark resilience in the face of numerous headwinds and a challenging economy.
“As firms look to the year ahead, they’ll have a close eye on managing rising prices and keeping a close eye on working capital will help firms as they try to mitigate the effects of inflation on their operations.”
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