Utilizing AI for Strategic Workforce Management Strategies

Trading companies were asked how their turnover in January 2026 compared with December 2025, omitting any seasonal trading. Data are plotted in the middle of the period of each wave. Nearly a 3rd (31%) of trading organizations reported that their turnover had decreased in January 2026 compared to the previous month.

The motions are broadly in line with those observed around this time in previous years, with peaks in December followed by small falls in January. The industries with the highest proportion reporting that turnover reduced in January 2026 were: the accommodation and food service activities industry (52%, which is a 21 percentage point rise from December 2025) the other services industry (45%) the arts, entertainment and leisure market (40%) Around 16% of trading companies reported that their turnover increased in January 2026, which was a 3 percentage point increase compared with December 2025.

For trading services with 10 or more workers, 33% reported that their turnover had reduced, which was broadly stable compared to December and January 2025. More than one in five (23%) services reported that their turnover had actually increased, up 2 portion points compared to December 2025. Usually, the percentage of services reporting that their turnover increased correlated to the size of business.

The exception to this was the percentage for services with 250 or more staff members, which was 25%, and 5 percentage points lower than December 2025 (30%). Trading organizations were asked how they anticipate their turnover to alter in the coming month. This can then be used to anticipate how the organization's turnover will actually change when that calendar month concludes.

Optimizing Workforce Acquisition for the 2026 Business Landscape

Patterns in between expected turnover and actual turnover have broadly moved in the very same instructions, the motions for expectations tend to be larger. Care must be taken when interpreting expectations questions, as the staff members reacting on behalf of businesses might not have full oversight of all of their company's future expectations.

ANSR July UK PRs

More than one in five (21%) trading companies anticipate their turnover to increase in March 2026. This is a 6 percentage point rise from February 2026 however was broadly steady compared with expectations for March 2025 (22%). The proportion of trading companies expecting an increase in January 2026 was 13%, while the proportion that reported an actual boost in turnover in January 2026 was 16%, suggesting a small pessimism in services expectations.

The trends have actually broadly followed each other considering that the concerns were presented in April 2022. The outcomes for March 2026 follow the trend from previous years, with the portion of services expecting turnover to increase peaking after a decrease in January. Bigger businesses were more most likely to expect a boost in turnover in March, with the percentage ranging from 20% for companies with 0 to 9 staff members, to 42% for services with 100 to 249 employees.

For presentational functions, some reaction alternatives have actually been eliminated. Information are plotted in the middle of the duration of each wave. Caution should be taken when interpreting expectations questions, as the workers responding on behalf of organizations might not have full oversight of all of their company's future expectations. "." represents information not yet offered.

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The percentage of trading companies that anticipated a decrease in January 2026 was 25%, while the proportion that reported a real reduction in turnover in January 2026 was 31%. The proportion of services expecting turnover to reduce for a specific month ahead of time has stayed substantially lower than the percentage of companies reporting an actual reduction in that month since April 2022.

Expectations for turnover to reduce have regularly followed the same trend, as real reported turnover decreases throughout this time. Trading businesses were asked what obstacles, if any, were impacting their turnover in early February 2026. Around 3 in 10 (30%) trading services reported that financial uncertainty was having an effect on their turnover, which was broadly stable with early January 2026.

This is broadly stable compared to early January 2026 and 2 percentage points down compared with a year back. For trading services with 10 or more employees, expense of labour was the most often reported challenge, at 36%. This was broadly steady compared with early January 2026. Businesses with 10 to 49 staff members were more likely to report cost of labour as a difficulty than organizations with 250 or more employees (37%, compared with 20%). One in 5 (20%) trading organizations with 10 or more workers suggested that they were not currently experiencing any turnover difficulties in early February 2026. Additional details on monetary performance, consisting of all response alternatives categorised by industry and size band, are readily available in our accompanying dataset.