Firms across the North West reported a fall in business activity in September, ending a period of growth stretching back over a year-and-a-half, according to new data released by NatWest.
The bank's latest regional figures showed the headline North West PMI Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – dropped below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for the first time since the third national lockdown in January 2021.
At 49.4, down from August's 51.8, the index signalled a modest rate of contraction that was slightly slower than that seen across the UK as a whole (49.1).
