Business News Round Up (26/03/2021)
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February redundancy plans fall despite lockdown
British firms planned fewer job cuts last month despite many being forced to close by Covid lockdowns. About 26,600 jobs were put at risk, one-fifth below January’s figure and slightly lower than February 2020. The numbers suggest that government support schemes have helped prevent the mass redundancies seen in the first lockdown. The figures from the Insolvency Service were obtained by a BBC Freedom of Information request. Employers planning 20 or more redundancies have to notify the government via the Insolvency Service by filing a form called HR1. Because these filings happen at the start of the redundancy process, they give an early indication of labour market changes months before they show up in unemployment figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56489884
Stores lose £27bn in sales over lockdowns
The British retail Consortium estimate that UK stores have now lost a whopping £27 billion from lost sales during the three lockdowns. The figures from the Office for National Statistics show that retail sales volumes only partly recovered in February 2021 with an increase of 2.1% when compared with the 8.2% fall seen in the previous month, and sales were still down by 3.7% on a year earlier before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Clothing retailers reported the largest fall, of 50.4%, in sales volumes when compared with February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic; automotive fuel stores also reported a large annual decline of 26.5% as travel restrictions continued to hit sales in that sector. The proportion spent online increased to 36.1% in February 2021, the highest on record; this compares with 35.2% in January 2021 and 20.0% reported in February 2020.
Optimism returns to Greater Manchester’s business community
Optimism is returning to Greater Manchester businesses following the roll out of the vaccination programme. According to the findings of this quarter’s Economic Survey conducted by Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the index has moved into positive territory for the first time since April 2020 as all three sector groups – services, manufacturing and construction show some signs of recovery after the economic shock of 2020. The survey of nearly 300 businesses reveals that customer demand has increased in this quarter and improved businesses confidence. The Greater Manchester Index now stands at 6.1, an increase of 24 points from the previous quarter’s results. Led by construction sector activity, current sales and advance orders from domestic customers increased relative to Q4 2020 but some clear divergence is emerging in the performance of different sectors. Whilst nearly half of construction sector respondents reported improved sales, under a third of businesses from manufacturing and services reported that their sales to UK customers had increased in this quarter. As against this, a third of manufacturing sector respondents and 40% of service sector respondents reported decreases in sales in this quarter.
Number of Scottish businesses using eBay up 90% during the pandemic
The number of Scottish businesses using eBay has increased by 90% – more than any other part of the UK. Data from the e-commerce platform showed that the pandemic led to many Scottish businesses setting up virtual shops in order to survive, with Aberdeen seeing the biggest uptake across the UK. Scottish entrepreneurs using eBay grew by 3,400% in the south of the city and 843% in the north of the city. The West of Dundee, North Ayrshire and Arran also saw significant growth, with online businesses on the platform tripling. Entrepreneurs capitalised on people being stuck at home and shopping online, with top categories of new businesses including camera accessories, educational toys, and stuffed toys.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/number-scottish-businesses-using-ebay-23793439