More West Midlands firms plan to hire, despite confidence dip

30 Apr 2025

Published in: Member News
Business confidence in the West Midlands fell nine points to 53% in April.
  • Business confidence in the West Midlands fell nine points to 53% in April.
  • Firms’ optimism in their own trading prospects fell 15 points to 55%, while their optimism in the economy dropped two points to 51%.
  • However, a net balance of 48% of businesses in the region expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up nine points on last month.
  • Overall UK business confidence fell ten points in April to 39%.

Business confidence in the West Midlands fell nine points during April to 53%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds.

Companies in the West Midlands reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 15 points at 55%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down two points to 51%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 53% (vs. 62% in March).

However, a net balance of 48% of businesses in the region expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up nine points on last month.

Looking ahead to the next six months, West Midlands businesses identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team, for example through training (53%), introducing new technology (43%) and entering new markets (40%).

The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly and which has been running since 2002, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.


National Picture


Overall, UK business confidence fell ten points in April to 39%.

Firms' optimism in their own trading prospects dropped seven points to 50%, while their confidence in the wider economy fell 13 points to 28%.

The North East was the most confident UK nation or region in April (59%), followed by the West Midlands (53%) and the North West (52%).


Sector Insights


Confidence fell across the four broad sectors. Manufacturing confidence remained broadly unchanged from last month, falling by one point to 38%, while the construction sector saw the largest decrease in business confidence this month, declining 22 points to 26%. Retail confidence also fell by 13 points down to 45% and the service industry fell seven points to 40%, both now at three-month lows.


Dave Atkinson, Regional Director for the West Midlands at Lloyds, said: “While business confidence has dipped this month, our region is still one of the UK’s most confident and significantly ahead of the UK average.

“Importantly, more firms are also planning to grow their teams. This speaks to the resilience and ambition that we see every day within our community. As businesses press ahead with their growth plans, we remain fully committed to helping them achieve their goals.”

Hann-Ju Ho, Senior Economist, Lloyds Commercial Banking, said: “With the announcement of global tariffs from the United States on 2nd April and the market volatility that followed, it is unsurprising that business confidence saw an impact this month.

“However, economic optimism remains higher than at the beginning of the year, showing businesses’ resilience in the face of recent challenges and overall confidence is still well above the long-term average of 29%, an average taken from over 20 years of analysis."

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