SURVEY SHOWS SOUTH YORKSHIRE BUSINESS CONFIDENCE AT THREE-YEAR LOW
8th January 2026
South Yorkshire’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey, published towards the end of 2025, paints a challenging picture for the region’s business community.
Over 250 businesses across South Yorkshire shared their views on current economic conditions, highlighting mounting pressures and declining confidence.
The Quarterly Economic Survey is the UK’s largest independent survey of business sentiment, gathering insights from hundreds of companies each quarter on sales, cash flow, investment, recruitment, and confidence. In South Yorkshire, the three local Chambers lead the survey, sponsored by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, capturing the views of businesses across all sectors.
Overall, the results reflect growing difficulties across almost all indicators, with several measures reaching their weakest levels for a number of years. Sales and cash flow have fallen sharply, becoming key areas of concern for the South Yorkshire Chambers as core indicators of business health. Rising operational costs continue to accelerate, severely undermining investment confidence.
With fieldwork taking place during a period of uncertainty surrounding the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, business optimism declined markedly. Expectations of improvement are at their lowest for several years, and overall business confidence has fallen to a three-year low. Concerns around the cost of hiring and levels of corporate taxation have risen to record highs.
Labour demand weakened after improving over the previous two quarters while recruitment difficulties intensified. Reflecting continued caution, recruitment into temporary roles increased for the second consecutive quarter, reaching its highest level in almost three years.
As businesses looked ahead to the New Year, many businesses remain in a holding pattern, awaiting clarity from the Budget and forthcoming Employment Rights Bill.
Dan Fell MBE, Chief Executive of Doncaster Chamber, said:
“These results show just how relentless and unforgiving 2025 was, driven by the tax, regulatory and employment landscape. They are nothing short of a canary in the coal mine. If we fail to heed this warning, not only will the country fall short of the growth needed to achieve prosperity, but we risk heading in the opposite direction.
I hope these findings send a clear message to policymakers locally, regionally and nationally: continued uncertainty and pressure on businesses will only push the trajectory further downward.”
Louisa Harrison-Walker OBE, Chief Executive of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry comments:
“Confidence and turnover have dropped to its lowest level in three years – with cashflow not looking much better. What a devastating set of results.
What this shows is just how hard our businesses have worked, and how much they have achieved in 2025 despite the economic conditions and uncertainty created by government policy. Businesses in South Yorkshire are remarkable, but they could achieve even more if taxation and the cost of employing people were manageable.
If anything, it makes me look ahead to 2026 with cautious optimism and a renewed determination to represent our members, including working closely with South Yorkshire’s Mayor and our local authorities to deliver the growth that we know will benefit South Yorkshire.”
Carrie Sudbury, Chief Executive - Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce said:
“These results closely mirror what we’re hearing from our members across the region. Many businesses are navigating an exceptionally challenging economic climate, shaped in part by ongoing uncertainty around government decisions and the Budget process.
At times like these, it’s more important than ever that we champion our business community and help rebuild confidence wherever we can. Your local Chamber remains firmly by our member’s side, whether that’s through support on Social Value or the wider guidance and advocacy they need to move forward.”
Sponsored by SYMCA, the Quarterly Economic Survey provides vital insight to help shape business support programmes and inform policy decisions, ensuring that South Yorkshire businesses are supported to grow and thrive in the years ahead.
South Yorkshire businesses are invited to the ‘You Said, We Did’ event on 29 January 2026 to hear how their feedback from the Quarterly Economic Survey and other surveys is driving policy decisions, shaping local supply chains, and informing regional economic action. Businesses can book on to this event through their local chamber.
