Business performance

Employers are feeling more optimistic about the future than at any time in over two years, according to a new survey of businesses.

Hiring intentions for the next year climbed to the highest level since 2015, according to Lloyds Bank’s Business Barometer.

Nearly 50,000 businesses were in critical financial distress in the spring, an increase of 21.4% compared with the previous year.

Reforms to sick pay being introduced by the Employment Rights Bill could deliver benefits of more than £2bn to the UK economy, analysis from the TUC suggests.

Each business body has struck a very different tone with the IoD highlighting a ‘recovery in business confidence’, while the CBI found ‘little sign of summer cheer.’

Publicly listed companies that have narrowed their gender pay gaps have seen double-digit revenue growth, according to new analysis.

‘Exporters to the US will be forced to review the viability of the US as a destination for their goods, and as a supply chain location.’

The impact of October’s Budget on employer confidence is ‘not as bad as feared’ according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

The chancellor is expected to unveil a series of growth plans that will create jobs and boost the UK economy by up to £78 billion.

Concerns around an increase in employer taxes have contributed to a record jump in the number of UK businesses in financial distress.

Keir Starmer has announced the AI Opportunities Action Plan in a bid to make the UK an AI superpower and create thousands of jobs.

More than half of private sector employers plan to raise prices to help offset tax increases, according to the British Chambers of Commerce.

Rob Moss examines how delays to introduce a transformed Labour Force Survey is leaving policymakers and economists in the dark.

Business confidence falls to new lows in November 2024 according to surveys from the CBI, IoD and Lloyds Banking Group.

Ford plans to cut 4,000 jobs in Europe, including around 800 in the UK, following a slump in electric vehicle (EV) sales.