Frederick Jace
As businesses in all sectors try to get back to their ways of working pre-pandemic, we are finding that prices across all sectors and services are increasing, as well as the overall cost of living due to inflation. Trade prices of goods are increasing, making cash flow significantly tighter for businesses. If you find your business is beginning to struggle financially, there are ways that you can get help. There are loans specifically designed to help businesses when they need them most, such as short-term loans, and loans for bad credit are an option if you find yourself in an emergency. Here are a few revealing business finance insights for the year so far.
Prices are rising
As businesses try to recover financially post-pandemic, prices have inevitably gone up. We’re all familiar with energy prices increasing rapidly at the start of the year and in some way or another, we’re all beginning to feel the pinch. Companies that are currently trading are noticing prices are rising month on month. Because of this, we are beginning to see the cost of services and goods increase in price to the consumer, this could be because they’re harder to get a hold of due to shortages, trading barriers due to Brexit, or rising wages that need to be accounted for. The cost of living is rising, as inflation continues to take place around the world as we try to bounce back from the pandemic.
Employees are back in the office
Another knock-on effect we’ve seen from the pandemic is the number of employees working remotely or involved in a hybrid model of working. As the restrictions from the pandemic come to a head, over half of the workforce is said to be back working from a designated space or office as normal. This has increased slightly from the end of 2021. It is likely that as the year goes on, the percentage of workers working in the office will increase, although some businesses may stick to a hybrid model or remote working to allow for an increase in productivity as well as improved work-life balance.
Worker shortages
Businesses are experiencing a shortage of workers post-pandemic. This could be for several reasons, such as Brexit immigration rules have stopped workers from other countries traveling to fill vacancies, as well as a lack of training to upskill candidates that live in the UK. Experts have said that some industries have a lack of candidates willing to work for them as certain sectors have developed a reputation for having low pay and poor conditions. As the demand for staff rises, this could mean that wages increase for current employees, leading to further inflation of prices for goods and services.
Sustainability
One of the main focuses for banks and financial institutions in 2022 is to operate more sustainably. We are all looking to reduce our carbon footprint in whichever way we can, and the pressure is increasing for governments and banks to follow suit. It is said that funding sustainable products are difficult as it is hard to predict their value. In the years to come, we are likely to see businesses moving towards more sustainable business solutions as the public continues to press for them to become more environmentally aware.
