The North West Small Business Index which measures confidence amongst businesses, is again in decline in Q4 after showing some signs of improvement in Q2. It currently stands at -57%. In Q3, the reading stood at -37%.
Confidence in business performance is again in the negative for small businesses, with uncertainty due to COVID-19 and Brexit seemingly having a negative impact on the region.
The uncertainty in confidence witnessed amongst North West small businesses is apparent across the country, with index scores among all regions in negative territory. That being said, North West small businesses are among the lowest in terms of confidence (-57%) and lower than the average for England (-47%). The only other region reporting lower scores than this is London (-61%).