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Business News - November 2024

This month (November 2024) we have updates on the following topics:

  • General economic outlook
  • Autumn budget
  • Skills in demand in our region
  • Challenges faced by businesses
  • Labour markets

General outlook:

  • In September, the inflation rate in the UK fell unexpectedly to 1.7%; this was the lowest it had been in 3 and a half years. The BBC said that the main drivers behind the surprise drop was lower airfares and petrol prices
  • Danni Hewson, Head of Financial Analysis at AJ Bell said that as a result of the higher than expected reduction in the inflation rate, it was now “nailed on” that there would be an interest rate reduction in November and the expectation that there would also be a rate cut in December had also risen as a result.

Autumn Budget

On 30 October 2024, the chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the first budget for the new Labour government, which included big changes for businesses and workers in the UK. Here are some of the biggest changes in the budget:

  • The most significant change for businesses was the rise in National Insurance contributions, the basic rate rising 1.2% to 15% from April 2025. This brings it back to the level it was in 2022 and is paired with a reduction in the threshold at which NI contributions are required to be paid by employers. From April 2025 this threshold will be lowered to when an employee earns over £5000, down from the current level of over £9100
  • To slightly offset this rise, the government announced that it will be raising the Employment Allowance, the tax relief on employer National Insurance. This will double from £5000 to £10,500 per year, shielding the smallest businesses from the rise in National Insurance contributions. This means around 865,000 small employers won’t pay any National Insurance, as they will have a bill of less than £10,500. The removal of the employer cap of £100,000 to access this relief means that all employers will benefit from this rise
  • The government also confirmed that the National Living Wage will rise by 6.7% from April 2025. This means that the hourly rate will go from £11.44 to £12.21 and the hourly rate for 18 – 20 year olds will rise from £8.60 to £10.00
  • Business rates for small businesses will stay frozen for 2025 - 2026, with the cancellation of the scheduled inflation linked rises; this is while the rates for larger firms will rise. There will also be a further year business rates relief in 2025 - 2026 for small firms in retail, hospitality, and leisure
  • The government confirmed that Capital Gains Tax will also rise with the lower rate increasing from 10% to 18% and the higher rate increasing from 20% to 24%
  • The budget included many other changes including Inheritance Tax, infrastructure spending, and additional funding for the NHS. The BBC has done a quick breakdown of the budget so please take a look for more information.

Main challenges faced by businesses:

  1. Economic uncertainty
  2. Hiring of new staff
  3. Competition with other businesses
  4. Insufficient domestic demand

Skills most in demand in our region from July to September 2024 were:

  1. Auditing
  2. Warehousing
  3. Continuous improvement process
  4. Mental health
  5. Nursing

Labour markets:

Ashfield's September 2024 figures show that we have 4.3% or 3320 people of working age as claimants. This is almost the same as August 2024, which had 3300 people in Ashfield as claimants. While this figure is much higher than the East Midlands average of 3.8% it is in line with the UK average of 4.3%

More Economic data for Ashfield District can be found on the NOMIS website:

Last updated: 4 November 2024