Business News Round Up (13/05/2025)
UK jobs market continues to weaken
The UK’s job market has continued to weaken with the number of workers on payrolls falling in the first few months of the year. The number of job vacancies also fell again, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Wage growth slowed but pay is still rising faster than the rate of inflation. Regular earnings, which exclude bonuses, grew at an annual pace of 5.6% in the first three months of the year. “The broader picture continues to be of the labour market cooling,” said the ONS’s director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown. The unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in the January to March period, the ONS said, up from the previous figure of 4.4%. However, the ONS has said its unemployment figures should be treated with caution because of low response rates to the survey on which they are based.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yq3xndvv4o
Q1 profit warnings fall in North West – consumer facing firms dominate
UK-listed companies in the North West issued five profit warnings during the first quarter of the year, according to new research, a fall on the seven issued during the same period in 2024. According to EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report, the figure also represents a quarter-on-quarter fall in warnings after seven were issued in Q4 2024. Consumer facing listed companies in the North West issued the most warnings during Q1 with a total of three, highlighting ongoing consumer sentiment challenges amid subdued levels of economic growth. Nationally, UK-listed companies issued a total of 62 profit warnings in Q1 2025, marking an 11% year-on-year fall. However, the proportion of UK-listed businesses to issue a warning in the last 12 months remains high, at 18%. More than a quarter (26%) of warnings across the UK cited policy change and geopolitical uncertainty as key drivers, while 18% cited labour market issues.
Number of UK firms planning to hire falls to record low
The number of UK employers expecting to increase headcount in the next three months has fallen to a record low, outside of the pandemic, as they grapple with rising employment costs and growing global uncertainties. This is according to the latest Labour Market Outlook report from the CIPD, which shows that the rate of employers expecting to increase headcount has fallen sharply among large private sector employers, and in retail in particular. The report’s overall net employment balance (NEB) – the difference between employers expecting an increase in staff levels and those expecting a decrease in the next three months – fell from +13 last quarter to +8 this quarter. This marks a record low, outside of the pandemic, since the CIPD began collecting this measure in 2014.
https://www.digit.fyi/number-of-uk-firms-planning-to-hire-falls-to-record-low
Scots offshore wind has £40bn investment potential
Offshore wind in Scotland has the potential for investment of £40 billion, according to a new report commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The study analysed various development projects in the economic pipeline of what it refers to as regional transformational opportunities (RTOs). These included renewable energy projects such as offshore and onshore wind, pumped storage hydro, green hydrogen and marine energy. In total, more than £100bn of potential investment was identified, with renewables accounting for around three-quarters of the total RTO investment value. Offshore wind accounted for £40bn, with over £13bn for pumped storage hydro, £10.9bn for onshore wind, £9.1bn for green hydrogen and £2.9bn for marine energy. Other projects relate to space, marine biotech, life sciences, natural capital and critical infrastructure developments such as electricity grid upgrades, improvements to ports and harbours and research and creation of innovation facilities.
https://renews.biz/100506/scots-offshore-wind-has-potential-for-40bn-investment