The region’s economy is among the first to recover from a January contraction, having been one of the last to stall in the ongoing coronavirus-dominated conditions.
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of four recording an expansion in activity, and stood alongside London in tracking and uplift in sales - predominantly from service providers.
The NatWest Yorkshire & Humber 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 – registered 51.8 in February, up from 44.4 in January.
The start of the year had brought the first contraction in eight months.
Richard Topliss, chairman of NatWest North regional board, said: “After January's lockdown-induced downturn, the Yorkshire and Humber private sector showed a slight recovery in February, posting a renewed expansion in activity.
“Although growth was only modest overall, the region remained one of the strongest performers in the UK, which has been the case throughout much of this crisis.”
The rate of job creation was the quickest since August 2019 and faster than in any of the other 11 monitored UK regions. Some panellists noted hiring additional staff in anticipation of a strong recovery in demand conditions in the coming months.
Recent weeks have seen Vivergo add 85 roles in Saltend after being mothballed for two-and-a-half years and ITM Power recruiting a similar number of engineers in Sheffield.
“The recovery in activity was important but an even brighter spot in the latest data was the upturn in employment, where the rate of job creation was the quickest for 18 month,” Mr Topliss said.
“The survey indicated that firms are now beginning to look beyond the Covid-19 pandemic and are planning for an economic recovery expected later this year. That optimism was further exemplified by sentiment towards the one-year outlook hitting a record high in February."
The degree of positivity was the highest since the series began in July 2012, and the highest of all regions.
