Companies in the UK are downbeat over their prospects, with employer confidence now at its lowest since the pandemic.
A closely watched survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) today revealed that just over a third of the 2,000 firms it surveyed plan to reduce their headcount through redundancies or by recruiting fewer workers.
A total of 42% said they would lift prices while a quarter of those CIPD asked said “they are cancelling or scaling down plans for investing in or expanding their business”.
Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD, said: “These are the most significant downward changes in employer sentiment we’ve seen in the last ten years, outside of the pandemic. Employer confidence has been impacted by planned changes to employment costs, and employment indicators are heading in the wrong direction.
“It’s the everyday economy sectors, such as retail and hospitality, which employ large numbers of people, that will be particularly affected by impending increases to employment costs,” Cheese added.
CIPD’s survey comes ahead of the latest official employment figures which are due to be published on 18 February.
