SMEs set to increase staff numbers as confidence grows
Growth in Business Confidence
Data released from Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer show that:
· 40% of UK SMEs plan to make an average of six hires in the first quarter 2022
· 2022 has started well, with SMEs expecting Q1 earnings to grow by an average of 13.5 per cent year-on-year
· However, two thirds are concerned about the impact the rising cost of living, inflation and energy bills will have on their business
The news comes as 56.2 per cent of SMEs report a rise in earnings in Q4 of 2021 against the same period in 2020. Data from Barclaycard Payments, which processes £1 in every £3 spent in the UK and services over 350,000 SMEs, supports this trend – with transaction volumes up 42.3 per cent for in the last three months of 2021, compared to the same period in 2020.
Though economic uncertainties persist, almost three fifths (58.1 per cent) of SMEs are predicting an increase in revenue this quarter compared to the same period last year when the UK was in the third COVID-19 lockdown.
On average, businesses forecast a year-on-year increase in Q1 turnover by 13.5 per cent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, hospitality and leisure operators – whose physical premises were closed this time last year – expect the largest turnover increase (33.6 per cent), followed by retail (16.5 per cent), transport and distribution (14.6 per cent) and financial services firms (11.2 per cent).
Year-on-year payment volumes also demonstrate a feeling of confidence amongst SMEs across the UK, with leisure and entertainment, food and drink and retail SMEs seeing an increase by 471.0 per cent, 110.8 per cent and 54.1 per cent respectively.
