Business confidence in South Yorkshire at three year low - survey
“These results show just how relentless and unforgiving 2025 was"
Business confidence in South Yorkshire is at a three-year low, a survey conducted by the region’s three chambers of commerce has found.
Dan Fell MBE, chief executive of the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, said he wanted the findings of the Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), compiled of responses from over 250 local businesses, to send a “clear message” to national and local politicians.
“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 a coal mine,” Mr Fell said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
The chambers’ survey revealed sales and cash flow have fallen sharply on years prior, which the organisations said were “key areas of concern” as they are core indicators of business health.
It was also revealed, by the survey, that operational costs of local businesses are continuing to accelerate.
Reacting to the results, Councillor Steve Cox, the Conservative group leader on the City of Doncaster Council, placed responsibility for low business confidence in the region firmly at the door of the Labour Government.
He said the business forecast looked “tricky” and added that the additional cost of employing staff, as a result of Labour’s increase in employers national insurance contributions, would need to be passed on.
“That impact is going to be carried by the resident receiving a service or someone buying an apple from the market in Doncaster,” he said.
The local business chambers said fieldwork for the survey was conducted during the “period of uncertainty” ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, stating business confidence “declined markedly” during that period.
Businesses reportedly told the survey that “expectations of improvement are at their lowest for several years” and overall business confidence was at a three-year low.
The survey revealed concerns around the cost of hiring staff and levels of corporate taxation have risen to record highs.
A spokesperson for Reform UK Doncaster said: “The South Yorkshire Quarterly Economic Survey confirms what Reform UK has been warning for years: Britain’s economy is being slowly strangled by high taxes, excessive regulation and chronic political uncertainty.
“A three-year low in business confidence, collapsing cashflow and record concern over employment costs are not accidents, they are the direct result of policies that punish enterprise while offering no credible plan for growth.”
The party said local businesses were operating in “survival mode” by delaying investment and avoiding permanent recruitment. They called for decisive action to provide economic recovery not “more tinkering”.
Despite improving in the first two quarters of 2025, the QES showed labour demand in South Yorkshire weakened in the second half of the year while recruitment difficulties intensified.
The chambers stated this was leading to increased caution from businesses with recruitment for temporary roles increasing to its highest level in nearly three years.
It said businesses in the region remained “in a hold pattern” awaiting clarity from the Budget and the Government’s looming Employment Rights Bill.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service approached Mayor Ros Jones’ office for comment, but did not receive a response.