4 out of 5 (78%) firms that attempted to recruit facing difficulties in finding staff Hospitality, construction and manufacturing firms most likely to report difficulties (80% or higher) Smaller firms reporting increasing wage pressures are making it harder to compete for staff Latest figures released by the British Chambers of Commerce show the pressure on firms struggling to recruit...
The Deloitte Consumer Tracker reveals net UK consumer confidence fell by five percentage points in Q1 2022, to -16%, the steepest fall since Q1 2020 when the UK entered its first lockdown. Confidence in levels of disposable income saw the sharpest quarter-on-quarter fall, of 23 percentage points, to -49%; the lowest level since the Deloitte Consumer Tracker began, Deloitte...
According to data released by the Office for National Statistics, UK GDP grew by 0.1% in February 2022. This marks a slowdown in the monthly rate of growth, after January’s uptick of 0.8%. On an annual basis, GDP was up by 9.5% in February, with this growth rate being supported by the low base witnessed in...
Nationwide’s latest Spending Report tracked c190m transactions made by members in February Overall spending down 9% vs January: Non-essential spending down 4% and essential spend down 12% 15% increase in spending in February on utilities and other bills versus 2021 as cost of living rises But spending on holidays and getaways flies in face of...
The most recent sentiment survey from ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions) which, although designed for visitor attractions, is useful in gauging people’s response to the removal of Covid restrictions. The key findings are: There are now only small minorities – around 10% for indoor attractions – whose anxiety is strong enough to prevent them...
The Office for National Statistics reports that November 2021 to January 2022 saw the overall number of vacancies reaching another record high of 1,298,400, though the rate of growth continues to slow. In November 2021 to January 2022, the total number of vacancies increased by 113,600 in the quarter, with the largest increase of vacancies...
Below is the press release from the Tourism Alliance and related bodies released on 4 February 2022: Cut VAT to save £4.6bn and ‘level up’, industry bodies urge Government Hospitality and tourism bodies state permanent VAT reduction benefits are ‘undeniable’, publishing a study that states cut will save the Government £4.6bn and create over quarter...
Government has published its Levelling Up the United Kingdom report, which says that not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. The forward begins: “While talent is spread equally across our country, opportunity is not. Levelling up is a mission to challenge, and change, that unfairness. Levelling up means giving everyone the opportunity to flourish....
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published the results of their latest business impact survey, which covers the period from 29 December 2021 to 9 January 2022. It shows that while 76.7% of all businesses are fully trading at the moment, accommodation and food services is the sector most impacted by Omicron with only...
The latest wave of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey on the social impacts of Coronavirus has been published. This covers the Christmas/New Year period, with the survey being undertaken between 15 December 2021 and 3 January 2022. Some of the results which show the impact on tourism and hospitality businesses are that: Only...