Business News Round Up (13/06/2023)
UK small business growth outperforms larger companies in recent years says Mastercard
Entrepreneurial ambitions in the UK are stronger than ever, analysis by Mastercard and Opinium suggests. As the number of micro-businesses (comprising one to nine employees) set up in the UK grew every year in the last decade, small business growth also outpaced that of larger companies. While the number of medium and large businesses in the UK plateaued in 2022, the number of micro and small businesses in the UK grew to 1.4 million that year, up 31,000 on the previous year. Growth in the number of medium and large businesses in the UK has yet to return to the highest levels seen in 2020. Despite this average growth, the UK’s smallest businesses appear the least optimistic about their future performance. Less than a quarter (23.9 per cent) of businesses with fewer than ten employees expect their performance to increase in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, those with ten to 49 employees were also pessimistic, with only a third (33.7 per cent) expecting their performance to improve. In comparison, 43 per cent of businesses with between 100 and 249 employees were optimistic about their future and expected their performance to increase in the next 12 months. Of all sectors, retailers were one of the least likely to have registered strong performance last year, with only 15.3 per cent saying they’d seen an increase in their performance in the year up to April 2023. This is despite being the sector employing the most people and enjoying the largest turnover.
Scotland’s employment rate falls
Scotland’s employment rate fell slightly in the last quarter, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures. Data showed the employment rate for those aged 16 to 64 fell slightly in the three months to April to 74.6%, down 1.8% on the previous quarter. There were 2.572 million people in that age group in work over that period. The employment rate north of the border was below the UK rate of 76%. Scotland’s unemployment rate did not change in the last quarter. ONS data showed the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was 3.1% between February and April this year, the same as in the previous quarter. This was below the UK unemployment rate of 3.8% in the last quarter. ONS figures showed that 85,000 people aged 16 and over in Scotland were unemployed between February and April. Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said: “The continued near-record unemployment rates for those aged 16 and over across Scotland and for men aged 16 and over are welcome. However, the economic outlook remains challenging, particularly with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.”
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scotlands-employment-rate-falls-30219807
North West consumers slightly more receptive to AI than national average, but over three-quarters still concerned
New research from KPMG UK has revealed that over three quarters (78 per cent) of North West consumers have concerns that are preventing them from using artificial intelligence (AI). One of the biggest barriers uncovered by the business advisory firm’s AI Polling study was that nearly half of consumers across the region (49 per cent) prefer to interact with humans. The survey, conducted in partnership with One Poll, quizzed 3,000 adults UK wide, and found that the number of respondents in the North West averse to using AI was slightly less than that seen at a national level (82per cent). Alongside fears of reducing human interaction, a third of consumers (30 per cent) have data privacy concerns that stop them using AI, while a quarter (25 per cent) were waiting for further technological developments in the field before they engage with the technology. On the affordability scale, one in five (21 per cent) said the cost of AI is too expensive. By contrast, North West consumers’ most popular motivation for adopting the technology is to save time, with a third (30per cent) choosing to use it for this purpose.
US business confidence in the UK falls for third consecutive year
US companies have expressed anxiety over Brexit, UK growth prospects and corporate taxation, with their confidence in the UK business environment falling for the third year in a row.The third edition of Bain & Company’s Transatlantic Confidence Index, carried out on behalf of BritishAmerican Business, revealed US confidence in British business “dropped markedly” as it continues to be influenced by political instability. On a scale from one to ten, the average business confidence rating for the UK dropped by almost a full point to 6.5. By comparison, the 2022 index revealed a half-point decline to 7.3. The two companies said the results of their study deliver a “clear call to action for the UK Government from business”, as US companies remain “consistently concerned” about the repercussions of Brexit, with political and trade ties between the UK and US a top priority. The publication of the index follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s meeting with US President Joe Biden last week and their ‘Atlantic Declaration’, aimed at creating a new economic partnership between the two countries to strengthen their economies and spur new investment.