A SHORTAGE of suitable staff is hindering the economic recovery in Worcestershire and Herefordshire according to a report by the area's Chamber of Commerce.

A review of the second quarter of 2014 shows the economy is still on the right track, although its pace is slower than hoped for.

The Chamber's latest quarterly economic survey, which was completed by more than 300 local businesses, showed positive local trends in both domestic and overseas markets. Domestic sales and orders have shown an overall improvement for both manufacturing and services firms, while overseas sales and orders have also risen compared to the first quarter, bucking the national trend, which showed a fall in export figures.

"One of the main concerns was that the number of firms experiencing difficulties recruiting staff doubled from the first quarter," said the Chamber's chief executive Mike Ashton, " evidencing a problem with recruitment and skills, which are issues the Chamber has long campaigned about. A slight fall in the investment balance was also disappointing. However, the two counties' businesses are driving economic recovery and this is shown by the survey for Q2. Difficulties with recruitment and a drop in investment are disappointing, but the overall picture remains positive.

"Overall the results remained encouraging, and firms are also confident about the future economic prospects of the two counties, with both the turnover and profitability balances improving. Turnover confidence increased seven per cent from Q1 (from 70 per cent to 77 per cent), while confidence regarding profitability also increased by two per cent.".

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce is celebrating after being ranked ninth out of 53 chambers in the country for number of respondents to the QES in the first quarter of 2014. Greater numbers of respondents to the survey, means more representative results and hence greater business influence as results are fed into central government.