Increasing number of Shropshire businesses looking to restructure or switch to short-time working due to falling sales
An increasing number of Shropshire businesses are looking to restructure their teams or switch to short-time working due to falling sales, a report has revealed.
Employers are also becoming increasingly concerned at a lack of ‘soft skills’ among the new generation of workers, including communication, teamwork, work ethic and professionalism.
These are some of the headline findings from the latest quarterly economic survey, which was carried out by Shropshire Chamber of Commerce.
The report, which covers the final three months of 2023, looks at a range of areas including cashflow, profitability, investment, training, skills and recruitment, international trade, and ‘fear factors’.
It reveals a 10 per cent increase in the number of employers reporting reduced staff numbers, compared with the previous three months.
And although only one in five Shropshire companies are looking to cut staff in the first quarter of 2024 – lower than many other parts of the UK – the figure was still 16 per cent higher than the previous quarter.
Ruth Ross, Shropshire Chamber’s chief executive, said: “It is clear from the results of this latest survey that inflation, fuel costs and the heavy pressure from ever-increasing wage demands have started to take their toll.
