UK factory costs rising at fastest pace since 1980, CBI says

[joselync]

Survey finds labour shortages driving Cost pressures for Britain's factories are growing at their fastest pace since 1980 as companies struggle to find workers to meet growing demand, a leading business lobby group has said.

[tracym]

The CBI warned that higher manufactured goods prices were inevitable after its monthly healthcheck of industry showed labour shortages at their most acute in almost half a century.

The survey of 236 firms found orders picking up over the three months to January, but output growth was limited by bottlenecks.

Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s chief economist, said: “Global supply-chain challenges are continuing to impact UK firms, with our survey showing intense and escalating cost and price pressures.”