Business News Round Up (31/05/2024)
Scottish businesses ‘joint most confident’ in May
Business confidence in Scotland was the joint highest of any UK nation or region in May, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking. Companies in Scotland reported higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 16 points at 60%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up 13 points to 53%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 57% (vs. 42% in April) – the joint highest overall confidence reading in May, alongside the south east of England (also 57%). A net balance of 50% of businesses in Scotland also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up eight points on last month. Looking ahead to the next six months, Scottish businesses identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team, for example by investing in training (44%), evolving their offering (40%) and introducing new technology (36%).
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scottish-businesses-joint-most-confident-32924804
Retail economist says inflation may rise to 3%
Inflation may remain a persistent challenge for the Bank of England and could rise to 3% before the end of the year, it has been claimed. The growth in prices has fallen sharply to 2.3% from its 11.1% peak in October 2022, but Harvir Dhillon, an economist at the British Retail Consortium, said a pick-up in economic activity could see it turn back upwards. He said this will encourage the Bank of England to resist pressure to cut interest rates. The data now points to just one interest rate cut this year, he said. While there had been expectations of a rate cut in June it is now widely expected that the Bank will take no action next month because of the general election. Some still believe a cut will come in August, but Mr Dhillon says even that could be too early.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2024/05/retail-economist-says-inflation-may-rise-to-3/
Over 18 million people in the UK have no used Generative AI
Over a third of people in the UK (36%) have now used Generative AI (GenAI), equivalent to 18 million people aged between 16-75; Seven million people have used GenAI for work, up 66% from four million a year ago; Of those using GenAI, one-in-10 (10%) use it daily, one-in-four (26%) weekly, and two-in-five (41%) use it less than monthly; Three quarters (74%) of people who have used GenAI for work claim it boosts their productivity; with one-in-four (27%) reporting that their employer actively encourages the use of GenAI. In the UK, three-in-five (60%) people are now aware of GenAI and over a third (36%) have used a GenAI tool, an increase of 26% (13 million people) from May 2023. However, notable gender and age gaps were apparent in the findings with 43% of men having used GenAI, compared to just 28% of women.
https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/over-18-million-people-uk-have-now-used-generative-ai
Hybrid workers are healthier and more productive than those working from home
Research conducted by Vitality, the next-generation health and life insurer, as part of its Britain’s Healthiest Workplace study, has found that individuals who work hybrid, striking a balance between working from home and the office, tend to experience fewer lost days due to reduced productivity as a result of ill health or sick leave. Persistent poor health remains a pressing issue in the UK, significantly impacting productivity, with nearly 50 days of productive time lost per employee each year of which 6.1 days are attributed to formal absence. Hybrid working correlates with greater productivity with only 47.8 days of productive time lost due to health concerns, including just 4.9 days due to formal absence. The difference is even more stark when comparing directly with the alternative. Full-time home workers lost an extra three productive days (50.8 days in total) than their hybrid counterparts.