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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Simon Goodley

UK business confidence weakened and hiring fell at end of 2025, surveys find

Sir Keir Starmer United Kingdom Make UK BDO Britain KPMG PwC
A worker brazes components of a folding bike in a London factory
In some good news, a majority of manufacturers believe the opportunities for their business to succeed outweigh the risks this year, according to a survey from Make UK and PwC. Photograph: Piero Cruciatti/REX

UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025 and hiring fell amid rising costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to key business surveys.

Contrasting with the prime minister’s optimistic new year message that the country was about to start feeling richer again, the jobs market weakened, with full-time and temporary appointments falling in December, according to a study by the accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

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