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Black Country Chamber Quarterly Economic Survey Q3 2026

The Black Country Chamber's Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) offers an up to date snapshot of the performance of the Black Country business community. The feedback gained through the survey is used both on a local and national level to influence and shape policy and strategies to better support and represent the regions business needs.

This survey should only take a few minutes to complete, and information provided is submitted to the British Chambers of Commerce. For more information visit our website here. All responses will be anonymised.
1.Name of Organisation (optional):
2.Which local authority is your business located in?(Required.)
3.Including yourself, how many people do you employ in the Black Country?(Required.)
4.What is your main business activity?(Required.)
5.Excluding seasonal variations, over the past 3 months....(Required.)
Increased
Remained Constant
Decreased
N/A
UK sales/custom/bookings have...
UK orders/advance custom/bookings have...
Export sales or bookings have...
Export orders or advance bookings have...
6.Your workforce...(Required.)
Increased
Remained Constant
Decreased
N/A
Over the past 3 months, has your workforce...
Over the next 3 months, do you expect your workforce to...
7.Have you tried to recruit staff over the past 3 months?(Required.)
8.If yes, were they for:
9.Did you experience any difficulties finding suitable staff?
10.If yes, for which of the following categories of employee:
11.Cash flow and Investment(Required.)
Increased
Remained Constant
Decreased
Over the past 3 months, cash flow has...
Over the past 3 months, investment plans for plant/machinery/equipment have...
Over the past 3 months, investment plans for training have...
12.Business Confidence(Required.)
Increase
Remain the Same
Decrease
Over the next 12 months, do you believe turnover will...
Over the next 12 months, do you believe profitability will...
13.Are you currently operating at:(Required.)
14.Over the next 3 months do you expect your prices to:
15.Is your business suffering pressures to raise prices from any of the following:
16.Which of the following factors are more of a concern to your business than 3 months ago?
17.Please add here any comments or feedback that you would like to provide on current business conditions
The following questions are for the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), which the Chamber leads as the statutory Employer Representative Body. Your responses help us build a clearer picture of the skills and employment landscape, so provision can be shaped around what employers actually need.
18.How confident are you that you know where to go to access appropriate skills or training support?
19.If your business identified a skills or training need today, where would you go in the first instance to address this? (Select one)
20.How easy or difficult do you find it to identify relevant training provision for your business?
21.In the past 12 months, has your business accessed any external post‑16 education or training provision?
22.If you would like to receive further information about the West Midlands Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and opportunities to shape employer‑aligned post‑16 education provision, please leave your details below:
The following questions have been provided by Birmingham Airport to help them understand current business travel to the USA and the potential demand for services.
23.Which destinations in the USA does your organisation travel to for business, and approximately how many return trips does it make to each destination annually?

Please include journeys involving a connecting flight. Enter an approximate number of return trips for each relevant destination.
No trips
1-2
3-5
6-10
11-25
26-50
50+
New York
Washington DC
Boston
Chicago
Atlanta
Dallas/ Fort Worth
Miami/ South Florida
Los Angeles
San Francisco Bay Area
24.Which UK airport does your organisation currently use most frequently to begin business journeys to the USA?
25.What are the most important factors when your organisation chooses an airport and flight for business travel to the USA?

Please select your three most important factors.
1
2
3
N/A
Availability of a direct flight
Range of destinations and onward connections
Frequency of services
Airport reputation/reliability
Ticket price
Convenience and accessibility of the UK departure airport
Convenience and accessibility of the destination or connecting airport
Preferred airline or airline choice
Corporate travel policy
Loyalty programme benefits
Availability and quality of premium or business-class cabins
Don’t know
Not applicable
26.If your organisation does not currently begin most of its business journeys to the USA at Birmingham Airport, what are the main reasons?

Select up to three
27.If Birmingham Airport offered a direct service to one or more destinations in the USA, how much of your current business travel to the USA would you be likely to use Birmingham Airport for?