There is a mixed outlook as Coventry and Warwickshire businesses go into 2011 - according to a major economic survey for the region.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has conducted its quarterly economic survey for the final quarter of 2010 with more than 180 firms in the region.

The manufacturing sector is more confident than the service sector going into the New Year but the overall mood is slightly better than 12 months ago and is considerably more positive than this time two years ago.

In manufacturing, 58 per cent of those companies polled think turnover will improve in the next year - just 38 per cent thought that would be the case a year ago.

In the service sector, only 45 per cent of businesses believe turnover will rise compared with 48 per cent 12 months ago. However, fewer companies in the service sector are predicting a drop in turnover (22 per cent) compared with 24 per cent a year ago.

Alan Durham, director of policy at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber, said the figures backed up the general mood among businesses.

He said: "The recession took its toll on manufacturers and it has taken a couple of years for them to get any semblance of confidence back. These figures suggest that there is optimism but nobody is getting carried away.

"The service sector is less optimistic going into 2011 than manufacturing which is probably due to some of the fear surrounding the Government cuts and how they will fully impact business."

Thirty-six per cent of manufacturers say they have increased their labour force in the past three months and 22 per cent said they would be adding staff in the next three months.

Just 13 per cent of service based companies have taken on new staff recently but 21 per cent said they were looking to add in the next three months.

Overall, 69 per cent of companies in both services and manufacturing said their workforce would remain the same in the next three months.

Durham added: "In terms of employment, the figures are slightly better than a year ago but it appears that most firms expect to remain static rather than taking on new people or shedding staff.

"If the private sector is going to create the jobs needed to replace those in the public sector and to get the economy moving, more of the barriers to employment still need to be removed by Government."