Coventry and Warwickshire companies are reflecting the more positive economic mood in their outlook for the next 12 months.
Firms across the city and the county were polled in the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).
The QES acts as a barometer for the regional economy and the results are fed into a national survey conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
And in the third quarter of 2013, both the manufacturing and service sectors across Coventry and Warwickshire, the results show improved confidence among businesses.
In the service sector, 78 per cent of companies are predicting a rise in turnover in the next year while in manufacturing, 67 per cent of firms believe turnover will grow in the next 12 months.
The figures are a strong improvement on the survey conducted in the second quarter of the year.
Louise Bennett, the chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said the economic recovery would be the main topic for discussion at its annual conference on October 4.
She said: “There is certainly a gathering momentum and growing confidence among companies across Coventry and Warwickshire.
“After a few false dawns, businesses are beginning to feel that the economic recovery might be strong enough to become a period of sustained growth.
“That said, that doesn’t mean the hard work is done and we must continue the process of rebalancing the economy and, particularly, getting more of our firms exporting.
“Our annual conference will hear from key figures in industry and in government and ensuring that the recovery turns into strong growth will be one of the key topics of the event.”
The concept of improving exports as a driver for economic growth is backed up in the survey as 81 per cent of manufacturers who export said their overseas sales had risen in the past three months.
In services, 73 per cent of firms who sell abroad said their overseas sales had increased in the last quarter.
When it comes to employment, 57 per cent of service sector businesses said they would be expanding their workforce in the next three months compared with just five per cent who said staffing levels would fall.
In manufacturing, 47 per cent of companies said they expected to increase their workforce in the next three months compared with seven per cent who said staffing numbers may be reduced.
The Chamber’s annual conference, which is being supported by the LEP and Santander, will also celebrate the organisation’s 110th anniversary.