Yorkshire's private sector still expanding - research

Business activity also rose and current and expected output growth encouraged a number of companies to take on extra staff, although margins remained under pressure following another marked increase in average operating costs, the Yorkshire and Humber PMI showed.

The seasonally adjusted business activity index posted 56.6 in June, meaning output has risen for the thirteenth successive month.

The rate of growth fell further from April's ten-year high but it was still above the UK average.

Patrick Bowes, chief economist at Yorkshire Forward, said: "Whilst the overall activity index fell in the month the expansion in new orders and the improvement in employer hiring clearly shows the region's private sector businesses remain confident."

Manufacturers and service providers indicated increases in output, with the latter registering the steeper growth.

Companies reported firmer underlying demand, with manufacturers also noting solid gains in orders from abroad, supported by rising levels of global trade.

A number of staff made modest increased in their number of staff - the second time in three months in which private sector staffing levels have been raised.

Higher capacity and improved efficiency helped firms to keep on top of overall workloads in June and backlogs of work declined slightly, following two months of growth.

Average input prices continued to rise and the rate at which costs increased was again steep but weaker than the 22-month high registered in May. Chemicals, metals, oil and plastics were reported to have risen in price.

A number of companies protected margins by raising their own output charges. However, competitive pressures continued to restrict pricing power.