Business News Round Up (31/01/2022)
Scottish business confidence rebounds in January
Scottish business confidence has risen by 13 points during January to 37% – the highest reading since September, according to Bank of Scotland’s latest Business Barometer. Companies in Scotland reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 23 points at 45%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, it increased by up 4% points to 30%, giving a headline confidence reading of 37%. The bank questions 1,200 businesses each month, including 86 businesses Scotland, with the overall ‘balance’ of opinion weighing up the percentage of firms that are positive in outlook, against those that are negative. A net balance of 24% of businesses in Scotland expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up one point on last month. Firms remained positive about their future trading prospects, despite a two-point dip month-on-month to 41%, and were optimistic about the economy overall, reporting a reading of 38% – up one point on December’s result. The net balance of businesses planning to create new jobs in the next 12 months decreased marginally to 29%.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-business-confidence-rebounds-january-26077161
Brexit trade with EU ‘getting worse’ say exporters
Business leaders say the second anniversary of Brexit today has been marked by continuing difficulties for exporters trying to trade with the EU. Huge lorry queues were again seen at Dover last week and the British Chambers of Commerce say it is time for urgent action to improve the situation. More than half of UK exporters (60%) surveyed by the BCC in November 2021 reported difficulties in trading with the EU, an increase from 49% in January 2021. The trade group says pictures of lorries stacked up on the A20, waiting to get into the port of Dover, offer a vivid illustration of the problems continuing to impact the operation of the trade deal between the UK and the EU. William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said: “One of the issues at Dover currently appears to be linked to the export of food products across the Channel. Like many of the problems this looks to be down to a differing interpretation of how the trade arrangements work after leaving the EU.
North West slow to rebound but Manchester set for fast growth
The North West was among the regions most affected by the initial economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to EY’s latest Regional Economic Forecast. By the end of 2021, the region’s economy, measured by Gross Value Added (GVA), had recovered to 96.1% of its 2019 size – the second slowest recovery, ahead of only the West Midlands (94.5%). By contrast, the UK’s GVA had recovered to 97% of its pre-pandemic size. This trend is forecast to continue to 2025 with the North West’s GVA set to grow just 6.8% from its pre-pandemic size – behind the UK average of 8.3% and again only ahead of the West Midlands (5.3%). The region’s administrative services and hospitality sectors will be particularly slow to rebound. The report also highlights the growing gap between the UK’s towns and cities. The North West is no exception to this trend with Manchester and Liverpool seeing their GVA fall by the equivalent of 1.5% and 1.1% per year from 2019-21. The region’s towns saw their GVA fall by 2.1% per year over the same period. While the 2019-21 decline in Manchester’s GVA was among the most significant for any major city in the country, Manchester is expected to be the country’s fastest growing city between 2022 and 2025 with annual GVA growth of 3.2%.
Self-employed numbers plummet in the UK for second year in a row as Government urged to intervene
The number of self-employed workers in the UK economy has dropped for the second year in a row, as a range of economic elements continue to hinder the industry. Hundreds of thousands of solo self-employed workers left the industry last year according to research from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE), representing the second year in a row where the figure has dropped. IPSE revealed that that the number of solo self-employed workers in the UK has fallen by five per cent, from 4.3 million in 2020 to 4.1 million in 2021. This is the second consecutive year that the self-employment sector has decreased following a 40% growth in self-employed workers seen between 2008 and 2019. This decline could prove to be devastating for the economy as the self-employed contribute much to the nation’s financial health. Even with the fall, IPSE’s report found the sector contributes an estimated figure of £303bn to the UK economy per year.