Fourth Business Monitor survey shows ongoing impact of the coronavirus
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s fourth Business Monitor survey shows business confidence remains low.
The survey was conducted between Friday 17th April and Thursday 23rd April and captured the views of 108 businesses.
The figures for customer demand remain deeply negative, with more businesses reporting a decline in sales and orders than those reporting an increase or no change in sales.
Most employers appear to have already made decisions about furloughing staff or making other reductions in their workforce. Over two-thirds of respondents reported no change in their employee count in the last week, while three-quarters expect no further change to their workforce in the next week.
For the fourth consecutive week, no respondent to the survey reported an improvement in weekly cashflow.
Business confidence levels continue to remain low. Half of the survey respondents reported not being confident at all about business prospects over the next three months, while another 28% were not so confident.
Subrahmaniam Krishnan-Harihara, Head of Research at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “The results of this week’s Business Monitor reveal that business confidence levels continue to remain low. All three Greater Manchester regions have reported a decline in business confidence.
“Businesses that have already made their claims under the coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are due to be paid this week. This is likely to play a major part in the worst affected businesses surviving through this crisis.”
The Business Monitor survey was conducted by Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with the support of pro-manchester and Manchester Law Society.
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