- Full Small Business Index (SBI) report lays bare the impact of rising costs and skills shortages
- Exporters continue to struggle amid rising shipping fees and loss of goods in transit
- Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) encourages policymakers to cut Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and relaunch SME Brexit Support Fund
The UK’s largest business group is urging the Government to address rising input prices, lack of access to the right staff and trade disruption as its full Q2 2021 SBI report, published today, highlights how these trends could stifle a nascent economic recovery.
Among the 1,500 respondents that contributed to the report, close to two thirds (64%) say they’re operating costs have risen over the past year.
Four in ten (43%) cite inputs such as raw materials as a contributor to the rise, an 11 percentage point increase on the same quarter in 2019. Labour (36%), utilities (28%) and fuel (26%) were also commonly flagged.
Despite a cooling in consumer prices, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures produced this week showed growth in the headline rate of input prices of 9.9% last month.
Elsewhere, more than a third of small firms (37%) cited access to appropriately skilled staff as a primary barrier to growth over the coming 12 months.
Close to seven in ten (70%) of those in the construction sector cited skills shortages as a barrier – those in the professional, scientific and technical (39%) and information & communication industries (44%) also consistently raised it as a concern.
The ONS flagged this week that there were 953,000 job vacancies in the three months to July, a record high.
The study also reveals that on top of the one in five (23%) small exporters that have temporarily or permanently stopped selling into the EU, a further fifth (21%) are considering halting sales.
More than half (53%) have had goods held indefinitely at EU border crossings since April and a similar proportion (45%) have lost goods in transit.
FSB National Chairman Mike Cherry said: “Small firms are emerging from lockdowns under the strain of spiralling input and shipping costs, skills shortages, new exporting paperwork, emergency debt repayments, rent accruals and business rates.
“The Government should urgently move to mitigate cost pressures by reducing Employer NICs, which are serving as a jobs tax and yet another cost to think about in an environment where finding the right people is a nightmare.
“This Government was elected on a manifesto that rightly promised to cut the jobs tax, and Ministers must rediscover that reformist zeal if they want to unlock growth within the small business community and secure our economic recovery.
“Our exporting firms tend to be among our most innovative and profitable. Unless we can get them firing on all cylinders again – and produce more of them – we’re going to find our recovery is permanently hampered.
“Small businesses didn’t have a chance to make full use of the SME Brexit Support Fund before it closed. It should be revamped and relaunched to help our great international-facing firms access the help they need to innovate, hire and grow over the critical months ahead.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
1) For a full copy of the Q2 2021 SBI see here. FSB surveyed 1,561 small firms for the Q2 2021 SBI between 24 June and 9 July 2021. Statistics are based on a weighted analysis of survey results. Weighting is applied to ensure figures are representative of the UK’s business population.
2) The SBI survey covers a range of economic indicators including: small business confidence, employment and wages, exports, productivity, spare capacity, finance and investment. The SBI is conducted by independent research company Verve. The headline SBI confidence figures are based on a weighted index, with the share of firms reporting ‘much improved’ or ‘much worse’ confidence allocated double weighting.
About FSB
As experts in business, FSB offers members a wide range of vital business services, including advice, financial expertise, support and a powerful voice in Government. Its aim is to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk. You can follow us on twitter @fsb_policy.
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About FSB
As the UK’s largest business support group, FSB is the voice of the UK’s small businesses and the self-employed. Established over 40 years ago to help its members succeed in business, FSB is a non-profit making and non-party political organisation that’s led by its members, for its members. As the UK’s leading business campaigner, FSB is focused on delivering change which supports smaller businesses to grow and succeed.
FSB offers members a wide range of vital business services, including access to finance, business banking, legal advice and support along with a powerful voice in Government. Each year FSB also runs the UK’s Celebrating Small Business Awards. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk. You can follow us on twitter @fsb_policy and on Instagram @fsb_uk.