Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 6 April 2023

• Latest results suggest business conditions continue to remain challenging, but estimates show small signs of positive improvement for some measures; examples include: a smaller proportion of businesses reporting supply chain disruption, more businesses reporting they were able to get materials, goods and services from within the UK, and fewer businesses reporting energy prices as their main concern.

• In February 2023, one in nine (12%) businesses with 10 or more employees experienced global supply chain disruption; down from 20% in September 2022 and the lowest percentage reported since the question was introduced in December 2021.

• More than two-thirds (67%) of trading businesses reported that they were able to get the materials, goods or services they needed from within the UK in February 2023; up 6 percentage points compared with January 2023.

• Looking ahead to April 2023, approximately 7 in 10 (72%) businesses reported some form of concern for their business; the top two concerns reported by businesses continued to be energy prices (17%) and inflation of goods and services prices (16%).

• In February 2023, approximately one in nine (12%) businesses were directly or indirectly affected by industrial action, with 3 in 10 (30%) of those businesses reporting that they were unable to fully operate as a consequence.

• Around 1 in 12 (8%) businesses reported that their employees' hourly wages had increased in February 2023 compared with January 2023; this was 14% for businesses with 10 or more employees.

• More than a quarter (28%) of businesses with 10 or more employees were experiencing worker shortages in late March 2023, though this figure has gradually fallen from 36% in late August 2022; nearly half (49%) of those businesses reporting worker shortages indicated that their employees were working increased hours as a consequence.

The data presented in this bulletin are the final results from Wave 79 of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS), which was live from 20 March to 2 April 2023.

The data reported within BICS bulletins and datasets are estimates that are subject to uncertainty, for example, sampling variability and non-sampling error. Further information on quality is available in our Business insights and conditions Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) and we regularly update confidence intervals associated with the survey questions.

Experimental single-site weighted regional estimates up to Wave 74 are available in our Business insights and impact on the UK subnational single-site economy: February 2023 article.

Figure 1: Headline figures from the Business Insights and Conditions Survey

Notes:

1. For presentational purposes, some response options have been excluded.
2. Data are plotted in the middle of each wave.

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In late March 2023, the percentage of businesses that reported they were trading was 96%, with 86% fully trading and 10% partially trading (for example, trading with reduced hours or staff numbers). Meanwhile, 3% of businesses reported "temporarily paused trading" and 1% "permanently ceased trading" as their business's trading status.

Of currently trading businesses with 10 or more employees, 19% had exported and 24% imported in the last 12 months.

In February 2023, those businesses that had exported and/or imported in the last year were asked how their exporting and importing compared with February 2022, and which challenges they had experienced an increase in compared with the previous calendar month.

Figure 2: Exporting and importing figures from the Business Insights and Conditions Survey

1. Exporting or importing compared with the same month last year: percentage of businesses currently trading with 10 or more employees and had reported they had exported or imported in the last year. For presentational purposes, response options have been combined.

2. Exporting or importing challenges: percentage of businesses currently trading with 10 or more employees, reported they had exported and/or imported in the last year, and reported how their exports and/or imports were affected. Businesses may report that exporting and/or importing has not been affected but are still able to report challenges.

3. Caution should be taken when interpreting these results based on the specific routing of this question meaning that only a small number of businesses responded.

4. Data are plotted in the middle of the period of each wave.

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Further industry and size band breakdowns for all exporting and importing questions are available in our accompanying dataset.

Intra UK procurement

Businesses not permanently stopped trading were asked whether they were able to get the materials, goods or services they needed from within the UK in February 2023.

The percentage of businesses that have been able to get the materials, goods or services they needed from within the UK, either with no supply issues or having to change their supply chain, has steadily increased from 55% in January 2022 to 67% in February 2023.

Further details on UK supply chains, including all response options broken down by industry and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.

Global supply chain disruption

Businesses not permanently stopped trading were asked whether they had experienced any global supply chain disruption in February 2023.

The construction industry had the highest percentage (65%) of businesses with 10 or more employees that reported they were not affected by global supply chain disruption in February 2023.

Further details on global supply chain disruption, including all response options broken down by industry and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.

Businesses not permanently stopped trading were asked what their main concern for their business was when looking ahead to April 2023.

Businesses were asked for their main concern; this does not mean they do not have any other concerns for their business.

Looking ahead to April 2023, 72% of businesses have some form of business concern, with energy prices remaining the most commonly reported main concern at 17%.

Compared with concerns for January 2023, there was an increase in the proportion of businesses selecting taxation as their main concern in April 2023. In contrast, a lower proportion of businesses selected energy prices and falling demand for goods and services as their main concern.

When looking ahead to April 2023, 8% of businesses reported they have concerns about taxation. This is the highest reported percentage since the question was introduced in February 2022. The information and communication industry reported the highest percentage of businesses that are concerned about taxation, at 15%.

The accommodation and food service activities industry had the highest proportion of businesses reporting some form of concern at 92%. In contrast, the information and communication industry reported the lowest proportion of businesses reporting some form of concern, at 60%.

Further details, including the full list of concerns broken down by industry and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.

Businesses not permanently stopped trading were asked if they had been affected by industrial action in February 2023.

Businesses that reported that they had been affected by industrial action were then asked how they were affected. The most common effects were:

• 30% of businesses were unable to operate fully
• 20% of businesses selected “other” – for example reduced demand for goods and/or services and a fall in the number of customers
• 20% of businesses indicated that their workforce were unable to perform their roles

Further details on industrial action, broken down by industry and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.

Hourly wages

In late March 2023, businesses not permanently stopped trading were asked, on average, how their employees' hourly wages in February 2023 compared with January 2023.

One in seven (14%) businesses not permanently stopped trading with 10 or more employees reported their employees’ hourly wages had increased in February 2023 compared with January 2023; this figure was 8% for business of all sizes.

In comparison, 79% of businesses with 10 or more employees reported their employees’ hourly wages had stayed the same across the same period. This percentage was 78% for businesses of all sizes.

Worker shortages

Of the 28% of businesses with 10 or more employees that were experiencing worker shortages, nearly half (49%) reported employees were working increased hours, while 40% of businesses were unable to meet demands.

Further details on worker shortages, including its effects broken down by industry and size band, are available in our accompanying dataset.

Access to microdata

You can access the microdata for Waves 1 to 78 of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) through the Secure Research Service (SRS). The BICS microdata for each wave are released on a rolling basis in the week following the publication of each wave. The microdata are made confidential and do not disclose information on any specific business.

Only researchers accredited under the Digital Economy Act, as explained on the UK Statistics Authority website are able to access data in the SRS. You can apply for accreditation through the Research Accreditation Service (RAS). You need to have relevant academic or work experience and must successfully attend and complete the assessed Safe Researcher Training.

To conduct analysis with microdata from the SRS, a project application must be submitted to the Research Accreditation Panel (RAP), as explained on the UK Statistics Authority website. To access the SRS, you must also work for an organisation with an Assured Organisational Connectivity agreement in place.

Reporting unit

The business unit to which questionnaires are sent is called the reporting unit. The response from the reporting unit can cover the enterprise as a whole or parts of the enterprise identified by lists of local units.

Net balance

Net balance is the difference between the percentage of businesses that reported a decrease, and the percentage of businesses that reported an increase.

More quality and methodology information (QMI) on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) QMI, updated on 24 January 2022.

The BICS is voluntary, and the results are experimental. More information is available in our Guide to experimental statistics.

The results are based on responses from the voluntary fortnightly BICS, which captures businesses' views on financial performance, workforce, prices, trade and business resilience. The Wave 79 survey was live for the period 20 March 2023 to 2 April 2023. The BICS survey questions are available.

Coverage

The Monthly Business Survey (MBS) covers the UK for production and Great Britain (GB) only for services. The Retail Sales Index (RSI) and construction are GB-focused. Therefore, the BICS will be UK-focused for production-based industries but GB-focused for the other elements of the economy covered. The industries covered are:

• non-financial services (includes professional, scientific, communication, administrative, transport, accommodation and food, private health and education, and entertainment services)
• distribution (includes retail, wholesale, and motor trades)
• production (includes manufacturing, oil and gas extraction, energy generation and supply, and water and waste management)
• construction (includes civil engineering, housebuilding, property development and specialised construction trades such as plumbers, electricians, and plasterers)

The following industries are excluded from the survey:

• agriculture
• public administration and defence
• public provision of education and health
• finance and insurance

For more information on the methodology of producing the BICS, such as weighting, please see our BICS QMI report.

More quality and methodology information (QMI) on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) QMI.