Business
UK employers show further signs of pre-budget nerves
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 28, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 28, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
LONDON (Reuters) – British business confidence sank to a four-month low in October ahead of the first budget plan from the country’s new government, a survey showed on Monday, echoing other signs of corporate nervousness about possible tax increases.
Lloyds Bank’s business barometer – representing the difference between the percentage of firms with positive and negative views – fell by 3 percentage points to +44%.
But firms were more upbeat about their own prospects than those for the broader economy – which touched their lowest since March – and the overall index remained above its long-term average.
Many businesses remain confident in their own trading prospects, and the increase in hiring intentions suggests more employers want to grow their workforce,” Lloyds economist Hann-Ju Ho said.
The survey was based on responses from 1,200 British companies with annual sales of more than 250,000 pounds ($324,575.00) and was carried out between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15.
Two surveys published last week also showed a drop in optimism among businesses.
Reeves’ budget announcement on Wednesday is likely to include an array of revenue-raising changes, including possibly higher social security payments by businesses.
($1 = 0.7702 pounds)
(This story has been refiled to remove the attribution to Lloyds in the headline)
(Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce)
Business confidence refers to the degree of optimism or pessimism that business leaders feel about the overall economic environment and their own company's future performance.
Hiring intentions refer to the plans or expectations of employers regarding the recruitment of new employees, often gauged through surveys.
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