11th March 2026
In February 2026, 41% of businesses with 10 or more employees reported that their staffing costs (including wages, bonuses, national insurance (NI), and pension contributions) had increased over the last three months; this is up 6 percentage points compared with November 2025, and up 5 percentage points compared with February 2025.
In February 2026, 55% of businesses with 10 or more employees reported that they expect staffing costs to increase over the next three months; this is up 20 percentage points compared with November 2025, but down 11 percentage points compared with February 2025.
Less than one in five (18%) businesses with 10 or more employees reported that their employees' hourly wages increased in January 2026 compared with December 2025; this is broadly stable with January 2025 and January 2024.
In February 2026, 17% of businesses with 10 or more employees reported they had been affected by worker shortages; this proportion has been broadly stable since November 2024.
One in five (20%) businesses with 10 or more employees reported experiencing recruitment difficulties in January 2026, down 9 percentage points from October 2025; of these businesses, 47% cited a lack of qualified applicants for the roles on offer, while 29% cited a low number of applications.
In February 2026, 20% of private sector businesses reported that they are using or planning to use increased homeworking as a permanent business model going forward; this has been broadly stable since January 2023.
Read the full ONS report HERE