Business News Round Up (19/07/2024)
Unemployment rate increases to 4.9% in Scotland
Unemployment in Scotland rose slightly in the last quarter, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). They show that the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over was 4.9% between March and May this year, 0.8% rise on the previous quarter and above the UK-wide unemployment rate of 4.4%. The figures show that 133,000 people in Scotland were out of work between March and May. The employment rate for people aged 16-64 was 72.9%, 1.3% down on the previous three-month period. This was below the UK-wide employment rate of 74.4%. Across the whole UK, figures showed that earnings growth has fallen back further amid mounting signs of a weakening jobs market. The ONS said average regular earnings growth dropped to 5.7% in the three months to May – down from 6% in the previous three months and the lowest level since the quarter to September 2022.
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/unemployment-rate-increases-to-4-9-in-scotland
Global IT outage hits multiple industries
Businesses and institutions around the world have been knocked offline after a major IT outage. In the UK, Sky News has been knocked off air, while Britain’s biggest train country warned passengers to expect disruption due to “widespread IT issues”. Around the world, banks, supermarkets and other major institutions reported computer issues disrupting services, with some airlines warning of delays and some airports grounding flights. Overnight, IT giant Microsoft confirmed it was investigating an “issue” with its 365 apps and operating systems, and although it said it had recovered some services, warned that the issue was ongoing, and users should expect “service degradation” according to a status page on its website. According to cyber security expert Troy Hunt, an IT issue at global cyber security firm Crowdstrike was causing much of the outage.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/global-outage-hits-multiple-industries-33278777
95% of UK and US firms struggle with data issues, new report finds
Technology leaders in the US and UK report ineffective data governance is holding them back. Technology consultancy esynergy has released the findings of new research, which has found that 95% of organisations in the UK and US say they have issues with their data. The report, based on a survey of over 700 business and technology leaders across the UK and the US, has found that the majority of organisations do not have robust data governance in place, leading to ineffective data usage and missed growth opportunities. It reports that 45% of organisations consider their data governance ineffective, a datapoint that is even higher in the financial services (53%) and insurance (50%) sectors. This is worrying senior technology leaders, with 45% of CIOs reporting that data is not being used effectively. Exactly half (50%) say that the objectives of data governance are not clear.
https://www.digit.fyi/data-governance-issues-esynergy/
Professional and business services sector ‘has £500m growth potential’, new report shows
The professional and business services sector in Liverpool City Region is worth £37bn to the area’s economy, a new report says – and there is still massive growth potential if it is backed with further investment. The Baseline Review 2024, carried out by Edge Hill University, explored the strength of the professional and business services (PBS) ecosystem in the area. It showed there were currently 12,545 companies in the sector, generating a turnover of some £36.98bn. The report suggests that focusing investment on high-growth companies could pay dividends. It says there are 2,285 high-potential SMEs in the region – and that supporting those firms with an investment of just £1.6m a year for five years could help create up to 1,500 jobs and grow the economy by £514.3m.