North East businesses share their insights on the condition of the economy with the Bank of England

Some of the region’s leading businesses and organisations shared insights into current economic conditions with Bank of England’s Chief Economist at a roundtable event organised by the North East England Chamber of Commerce.

Representatives heard from Huw Pill, chief economist and executive director for Monetary Analysis and Research at the Bank of England, who is visiting the region to take the pulse of the local economy.

Huw shared his views on current economic conditions, the background to continued inflationary pressures, and how the Monetary Policy Committee is working to reduce inflation to reach their target level of 2 per cent. The roundtable covered topics including skills, recruitment and retention, and the continued challenge of high energy costs.

Andrew Haigh, president of the North East England Chamber of Commerce and Chief Executive of Newcastle Building Society, thanked the bank for their engagement with local businesses and said: “Growing talent within our region and then creating the opportunities to keep it here is a key priority for North East businesses.

“It is already a great place to live, work and do business and it is fantastic to work with the Bank of England team to ensure our members continue to have these valuable conversations with national decision makers.”

A key focus of the discussion was around skills, employers’ experiences of recruiting and retaining talented workers in their organisations and the value of a positive working culture and balance of creative incentives.

As cost-of-living challenges continue to impact employees it is especially important that organisations support their people in a variety of ways, not only to improve wellbeing but to ensure staff feel valued and want to stay. This is particularly true in sectors where individuals can live in the region and work remotely in London-based jobs on the higher salaries they offer.

Regional businesses continue to show enormous resilience in the face of these challenges. Having spent the previous day in Sunderland, Huw commented on the progress and growth being made there despite the recruitment challenges faced by organisations in the city.

Representatives also discussed recent data which shows that unemployment in the North East is now lower than the UK average, and what this means for employers and their workforce.

Gareth Harrison, North East deputy agent at the Bank of England, said: “It is vitally important that our policymakers speak directly to business leaders in the region and Huw learned a lot from those around the table. Intelligence gained from these events helps shape our policy decisions and it was fascinating to hear of developments in the labour market and housing sector.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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