A top economist has spelled out his hopes for the economic recovery across Sussex.

Spencer Dale, chief economist at the Bank of England, conducted a whistle-stop tour of the county to gauge the economic climate.

He said business leaders in the county had told him that “they are starting from a low base but they are confident.”

He met directors at Palmer and Harvey in Davigdor Road and Close Brothers Invoice Financing in Hove and held a question and answer session with representatives from 40 small and medium sized businesses at a lunch organised by the Hove Business Association.

He said: “I am here in Sussex to listen and learn. We are getting out
and meeting businesses and finding out what’s going on.

"What Sussex business leaders are telling me is that it is tough but it feels like it’s getting better.

"There’s a long way to go and we are starting from a low base. We know business owners and their workers are working harder and longer but the flexibility in the labour market has kept unemployment under control.

"The recovery is a matter of years not months.”

Tony Mernagh, executive director at the Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, attended the lunch at the Sussex County Cricket Ground in Hove.

He said business and financial services have the heft to lead the recovery in the county.

He said: “Spencer Dale was very convincing and very forthright. It is quite clear that the bank, while welcoming the recent uptick in the economy, is fully aware the recovery has a long way to run before anyone can relax.

"While it is tempting to say digital firms will lead the recovery, and they are definitely motoring, they are still too small and rarified.

"The financial sector employs huge numbers of people and has the heft to make a real difference.”

Ed Carr, marketing director at Davenport Wealth Management in Hove, said: “I think the business owners in the meeting were convinced the Bank of England has learned the lesson of the past.

"I believe we are in safe hands. The bank is trying its best and it is able and willing help business in the county. It has put measures in place for prevention rather than cure.”
 

Mr Dale told the Argus the Bank of England’s “forward guidance” policy will hold interest rate rises steady while businesses in the county are battling to recover from the economic downturn.

The bank has said it will consider increasing the cost of borrowing only when unemployment falls to 7% nationally.

Unemployment in Brighton and Hove is 2.7% and this month the number of jobseekers in the county fell to the lowest level since the onset of the recession. Spencer Dale told the Argus the recovery in Sussex was broad-based but would take a long term to rise to pre-2008 levels.