Finance
UK firms to cut jobs but raise prices, BoE survey shows
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 4, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 4, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
UK businesses plan job cuts but will raise prices, according to a BoE survey. Employment expectations weaken, while price and wage growth are anticipated.
LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - British businesses expect to reduce staff numbers but raise prices at a similar rate to before, according to a survey of more than 2,000 firms on Thursday by the Bank of England that was conducted before finance minister Rachel Reeves' annual budget.
The Decision Maker Panel conducted between November 7 and November 21, showed firms planned to raise prices by 3.7% percentage points over the next 12 months, 0.1 percentage points more than they had expected one month earlier.
Expectations for employment over the next year weakened, falling by 0.1 percentage points to -0.2% in the three months to November.
Companies' expectations for consumer price inflation in the year ahead were unchanged in the same period at 3.4% in November.
British consumer price inflation fell to 3.6% in October and the BoE expects it to have peaked, strengthening its case to cut interest rates from their current 4%.
The BoE survey showed businesses expected wage growth of 3.8% over the coming year in the three months to November, 0.1 percentage points higher than in the three months to October.
(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken)
Consumer price inflation measures the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.
Wage growth refers to the increase in the average pay of workers over time, often expressed as a percentage.
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom, responsible for issuing currency, maintaining monetary stability, and overseeing the financial system.
Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money or the return on savings, typically expressed as a percentage of the principal amount.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
