Chamber column: "2024 feels like it's going to be important year for businesses"

We’ve started 2024 with another mixed bag of economic figures and it feels like this is going to be a very important year for firms across the region.

The Chamber’s final Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) of 2023 showed that, while the economic outlook had dipped slightly compared to the previous three months, confidence had actually improved since the same time last year.

That could be for a number of reasons but I am sure the fact that inflation was finally starting to fall as 2023 came to an end would have had a part to play because there was a feeling that would lead to greater stability in the economy.

I don’t believe we should get too worked up by the most recent GDP figures.

They are telling us what we already know – that the economy was flat throughout last year and, more than likely, that will be the case in the coming 12 months too.

A 0.1 percentage point here or there can be the difference between recession and growth but, ultimately, it changes very little about the reality of the conditions that businesses in Rugby and the wider borough are facing.

Unemployment figures do highlight a couple of points that, again, we’re all aware of but are worth highlighting.

I think we all expected it to rise significantly either at the height of the Covid lockdowns or just after but it has remained relatively low which is welcome.

However, we also know how hard it is to recruit and retain people and that has had a big effect on businesses across the patch. We know there are many who are detached from the labour market either out of choice or through illness and there is more to be done to support people back to the workplace.

The metric that will have caused the biggest eyebrow raise among businesses and decision makers was the slight – and it was very slight – rise in inflation.

Everyone will be hoping that this is a blip and not a new pattern because it has such a big bearing on other factors that affect businesses, such as how high interest rates are which has undoubtedly caused a headache for many companies across the region.

Of course, there are local factors that have a big bearing on our businesses too and, as ever, we are keen to hear your views on what you would like to see to boost our regional economy.

That can be in person at our next business forum in April or do drop the Chamber’s head of policy – Sean Rose – a line at [email protected] if there is anything you want to share or suggest.

The Chamber is where businesses in Rugby belong and we will do everything we can to help you grow and to support the local economy.