Employers in the South West are the most confident in the UK when it comes to taking on new staff, according to recruitment firm Manpower.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey found that 28 per cent of businesses in the South West expected to grow their headcount during the next three months.

The figure represents a favourable increase of 16 percentage points year-on-year and 24 percentage points stronger compared to the last quarter.

Andrew Shellard, Manpower's operations manager for the South West, said: "With another hot summer expected employers in the South West, in particular those in hospitality and tourism, will be gearing up for a busy few months.

"In places such as Devon and Cornwall business confidence is high with employers looking to take on more staff to meet their business needs."

He added: "We're also seeing an upward trend in the retail sector with large developments such as Drake Circus in Plymouth expected to bring a surge of jobs to the local labour market.

"With similar retail developments in Exeter and Bristol expected to complete towards the end of the summer we expect a boost of employment opportunities, which great news for the South West.

"The longer-term confidence for the region is shown by these new developments and we expect the boom to continue into the second half of the year."