One in three British employers plan job cuts in third quarter, survey finds - FT

The Finacial Times has stated that one in three British businesses are planning job cuts in the third quarter of this year as the government’s coronavirus furlough scheme winds down, a survey of 2,000 companies has found.

Lead paragraphs

The study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found the number of employers expecting to make redundancies had jumped from 22 per cent earlier this year to 33 per cent for the three months to the end of September.

The latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook said that although hiring intentions had also risen — with almost half of employers expecting to take on new recruits in the next three months, compared with 40 per cent last quarter — confidence is at its lowest since the survey in its current form started in 2013. 

The net employment balance, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers who expect to increase staff levels and those who expect to decrease staff levels, has fallen from minus 4 to minus 8 over the past three months.

Sectors, such as hospitality, transport and retail, that were struggling to operate in a time of social distancing, registered the steepest falls in confidence.

Market implications

With Brexit and what is likely to be very dismal data for the week ahead, the pound could come under immense pressure while the greenback seeks to stage a recovery. 

UK poised to suffer the biggest Covid blow of any major economy - Telegraph