UK businesses show modest stability amid ongoing economic pressures: about 14% reported increased turnover in May compared with April, while 24% saw a decrease—both largely unchanged from previous month.
A quarter (25%) flagged rising input costs, down from April and the lowest since December 2024.
Over half (51%) do not plan to raise prices in July, the highest since last December; among those considering a hike, 22% cited labour costs as the reason -a slight drop from June.
Worker shortages persist but are easing: 16% of larger businesses (10+ employees) reported them in early June, the lowest since tracking began.
Similarly, 16% reported recruitment difficulties in May—the lowest recorded since monitoring began.
In short: turnover trends remain flat, input price pressures are easing, a growing share aren’t raising prices, and labour market strains are at their loosest ebb since records began. The market reaction was muted. Traders are more focused on today’s US Non-Farm Payroll release ahead of tomorrow’s Independence Day holiday.
But sterling dropped a touch against both the US dollar and the euro, while the FTSE 100 was a tad higher. Despite these moves, sterling remains close to the three and a half year high against the dollar hit on Tuesday.
