FINANCIAL experts continued to advise caution last night despite the Liverpool city region enjoying relatively good news in the monthly jobless totals.
Matt Dunham, North West regional chair of the insolvency trade body R3 and a partner with Grant Thornton in Liverpool, said many companies still continue to face significant difficulties.
Mr Dunham said: “Banks have been taking a softly, softly approach with businesses which owe money and HMRC has given over 22,000 North West firms extra time to pay their tax bills.
“However both these lifelines will eventually be withdrawn which could lead to further business failures and job losses. We also know from experience that insolvency and unemployment continue to rise for some time after a recession. On the positive side, one feature of this recession is that workers are co-operating with employers and accepting sacrifices such as reduced hours or unpaid leave. In many companies the workforce is playing a key role in helping them survive.”
