Labour-saving investment

Businesses are looking to invest more in plant and machinery and less in buildings, a sign of a move to strip out labour costs, a major business survey suggests. The Institute of Economic Research’s quarterly survey of business opinion, covering the first three months of 2018, continued to show gloomy business sentiment. A net 9 per cent of business expect general economic conditions to deteriorate over the coming 12 months, a marginal improvement on the December survey. Retailers, facing labour reforms and a minimum-wage increase, were the most pessimistic category despite solid sales in recent months.