Business News Round Up (16/09/2021)
Post-pandemic work trends could see Scottish city employment rise by 7%
Major Scottish cities are predicted to see employment rise by as much as 7%, following the pandemic changing in the way people work, according to KPMG. A new report also suggested that businesses in some sectors are preparing for employees to spend two to three days a week working from home on a permanent basis. The professional services group claims that this could see existing office space capacity potentially increase by as much as 40%. The increased availability of office space in major business hubs is expected to attract businesses from smaller areas to fill up the vacant space, with cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen set to see employment rise by between 5 and 7%. Smaller towns and cities with a large proportion of the workforce working partially from home are also expected to benefit. Areas including East Dunbartonshire, Clackmannanshire and East Renfrewshire are all expected to see local demand grow with greater numbers now working from home on a regular basis. Meanwhile, less dense business areas could see a decline in employment and may need to be transformed into more residential, leisure, retail, and other uses.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/post-pandemic-work-trends-could-24988449
Global trade volumes rebound but UK ‘lagging’, report finds
Global trade is recovering strongly after a pandemic-induced downturn in 2020, but progress is uneven, with the UK, Africa, and the Middle East among those lagging behind, a major UN report finds. In its annual trade and development report, published today, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the global economy is expected to bounce back in 2021 after a 5.6% drop in international goods and services trade last year. UNCTAD estimates that real growth in goods and services will total 9.5% in 2021, with overall global economic growth hitting 5.3% – the highest figure in almost half a century. “Still, the recovery has been extremely uneven, and scars will continue to weigh on the trade performance in the years ahead,” UNCTAD says. Though most large economies reported both exports and imports reaching pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021, the report singles out the UK, Africa and Middle East as “lagging” behind. In the UK’s case, the findings are largely attributed to its departure from the EU at the end of 2020.
Manchester set for ‘crucial role’ in post-Brexit Britain economic success as city’s share of UK innovation soars
Manchester’s biggest firms have seen their share of UK innovation jump 12.1% since the Brexit vote amid a massive rise in R&D spending, new analysis has revealed. Greater Manchester’s largest employers accounted for £1 in every £151 clawed back nationwide in R&D tax relief in the latest year, compared with £1 in every £169 two years earlier in 2016/17. The analysis also showed that the number of claims being made by Manchester’s largest employers has risen by 27.8% over the same period, giving a “strong indication” that the region is primed to play a “crucial role” in post-Brexit Britain’s economic success. The total amount spent by all Manchester-registered companies on qualifying R&D leapt 50.8% from £620m to £935m, according to analysis by R&D tax experts Catax, which assists larger companies with tax relief claims under the R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) scheme. That compares to a national rise of 42.7% in overall R&D spending, climbing from £24.6bn to £35.1bn in the latest available year – 2018/19. Catax carried out its analysis by comparing claims made by large companies under the Government’s R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) scheme with the total amount claimed by UK companies of all sizes.
https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/manchester-set-crucial-role-post-21574435
UK tops G20 economic growth rankings
The UK economy grew at the fastest rate among the group of rich and developing nations in the second quarter of this year, according to new figures released today.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the British economy expanded 4.8 per cent between April and June this year, the fastest rate out of all G20 nations. The UK economy grew faster than China (1.3 per cent) and the United States (1.6 per cent). The UK had one of the world’s fastest vaccination rollouts in the world in the second quarter, allowing it to lift almost all Covid restrictions, which enabled pubs, bars, and restaurants to resume near-normal trading. The services industry represents around 80 per cent of the UK economy, meaning an uptick in spending on social activities as restrictions eased provided a relatively sharpest boost compared to other G20 nations. However, growth slowed sharply at the beginning of the third quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics, as the initial bump from ending Covid measures eased off.