BUSINESS confidence in York has increased "significantly", it was revealed today.

A preview of the latest City of York Council quarterly economic bulletin - which is yet to be published - suggests that business people in the city are pumped up in their expectations of better turnover and more jobs.

That appears to be in line with the latest six-monthly CBI/Yorkshire Forward Survey of Regional Economic Trends, carried out by Business Strategies, which ranks employers in North Yorkshire as "the most optimistic for the future" in the region

The latest York economic survey, which looks at the first quarter of this year, finds that bosses in the city are also expecting better exports.

But actual performance in York is a slightly different story.

Tony Bennett, assistant director of economic development for City of York Council, said the preliminary report had only just landed on his desk, but broadly showed that compared with the previous quarter turnover was "about the same" and employment was down - though in line with the seasonal cycle.

But, he said, there had been increased levels of investment and an improvement in exports.

The CBI/Yorkshire Forward Survey finds that hotels and catering, distribution, transport and communications sectors and employers in North Yorkshire are the most optimistic.

This, says the survey, follows a range of initiatives by Yorkshire Forward and its partners in mitigating the impact of foot and mouth disease on the regional economy.

Yorkshire Forward invested £6 million - the largest amount by any Regional Development Agency - on rural recovery measures.

The survey shows that although profit margins have declined over the past 12 months, employers in the Yorkshire region are generally optimistic. A positive balance of 20 per cent expected improvement over the next six months - a distinct turnaround from the last survey, when a negative balance of 21 per cent pointed to expectations of a deterioration.

But Gillian Cruddas, chief executive of York Tourism Bureau, said: "There is still a degree of apprehension, particularly from those dependant upon overseas visitors."

People were coming back to York after September 11, but not flooding back. "Optimism is a good state of mind but I am not sure that our businesses would argue that we are going to have our best summer ever. The best we can hope for is consolidation."

Updated: 11:26 Tuesday, April 30, 2002