Nearly three quarters (73%) of businesses reported some form of concern going into December, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Input price inflation and energy bills remained the top two concerns, at 25% and 19% respectively. Energy concerns were at their lowest level since February, when they were at 15%.

The business insights and conditions survey (BICS) also found that one in ten businesses (13%) experienced a shortage of workers in late November. This rose to 32% for businesses with ten or more employees, more than half of which said that staff were working increased hours.

Between September and October 2022, 17% of the same sized businesses reported an increase in employees' hourly wage. This percentage increased to 22% for similar-sized businesses in the education industry.

The health and social work activities industry reported the highest proportion of staff shortages, with 54% of businesses affected.

Furthermore, 41% of importing businesses and 35% of exporting businesses saw an increase in transportation costs between September and October.

Over October, one in eight businesses claimed to have been heavily affected by industrial action. Retail and wholesale were one of the most affected, largely driven by online shopping.

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