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UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025 and hiring fell amid rising costs and uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to key business surveys.

Contrasting with the prime minister’s optimistic new year message that the country was about to start feeling richer again, the jobs market weakened, with full-time and temporary appointments falling in December, according to a study by the accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

Jon Holt, the group chief executive of KPMG, said: “The jobs market at the end of 2025 was still signalling caution. After a long stretch of rising cost pressures and higher global economic uncertainty, many firms continue to pause hiring and are flexing where they can by using temporary staff.

“As we head into the new year, this restraint is likely to remain in the near term.”

Meanwhile, UK business confidence weakened sharply at the end of 2025, according to the latest business trends report from BDO, with the accountancy firm’s “optimism index” falling to its lowest level in nearly five years.

Scott Knight, the head of growth at BDO, said: “Business costs are rising and turnover expectations are falling; it’s no wonder that optimism is on the floor. Decisive action like further interest rate deductions and a clear roadmap of what’s ahead is critical if they’re to grow and invest.”

Keir Starmer kicked off 2026 with a series of briefings about how Britons would soon notice an improving economy, with claims his government had succeeded in bringing down living costs because of cuts to energy bills and interest rates as well as the end of the two-child benefit cap.

There was also mixed news for Downing Street from a third economic survey, showing that Britain’s manufacturers believe the introduction of the government’s industrial strategy last year will boost their growth prospects in 2026.

A majority of manufacturers believe the opportunities for their business to succeed outweigh the risks this year, according to an annual survey from the sector’s trade body Make UK and the accounting group PwC.

However, Make UK said the survey also signalled that the significant increases in business costs, especially on employment and energy, were threatening to reach “a tipping point whereby investment plans will be cancelled or shifted overseas”.

Stephen Phipson, the chief executive of Make UK, said manufacturers could only thrive “in the most favourable business environment”.

He said: “Despite the commitment to an industrial strategy, not only is growth anaemic but the warning lights are now flashing red on the UK as a competitive place to manufacture and invest. The government promised significant change; now is the time to deliver it.”

A Bay of Plenty community say a new solar farm hasn’t delivered the planting promised under its resource consent.

The 30-hectare 38MWp Omeheu Solar Farm, a joint venture of Far North Solar Farms and Aquila Clean Energy Asia Pacific, is under construction on Putiki Rd, just outside of Edgecumbe.

Residents of nearby properties say the company didn’t fulfil the resource consent landscaping requirements.

These required the solar farm to have native screening plants, at least one metre in height when planted.

The plants needed to be capable of completely screening panels and security fencing and be in the ground within the planting season (March to September), following commencement of construction.

However, Aquila Clean Energy said it was working with Whakatāne District Council to put the matter right.

Whakatāne District Council issued the resource consent for the solar farm in 2021.

At the time, residents say they were given assurances by Far North Solar Farms representatives that plantings would be in place well ahead of construction starting.

“In fact, they told us they had the plants already,” said Jo Spod, who lives directly across the road from the site.

Spod said the lack of planting was particularly galling when compared with the resource consent conditions the council had made him comply with when he built a second house on his own property in 2020.

That consent had required screening plants to be in place to mitigate the visual environmental impact of the house being so near the road.

Spod said the solar farm would have a far greater visual impact than his cottage.

In March 2024, the company announced that construction would soon begin.

Some Pittosporum trees were planted along the perimeter of the site in September last year, but the plants were less than the stipulated height of 1 metre.

Putiki Road resident Peter Askey said the species were not suited to the plains’ growing conditions so were unlikely to thrive.

Askey said the consent condition was very clear on the plant height when planted.

“Council have refused to enforce it and appear content to let the plantings grow into specification, which will add another year.”

Whakatāne council resource consents manager Mike Avery said the council had noted non-compliance with conditions of the certified Landscape Management Plan, where planting had been carried out that did not meet the specific requirements.

Avery said Aquila-Far North were subsequently required to resubmit a revision of the plan to show how the non-compliance was to be mitigated. The submitted variation was then subject to professional peer review.

“Aquila are currently further amending the Landscape Management Plan to take account of all of the mitigation measures recommended by the reviewer,” Avery said.

“The changes require some replanting and an increased level of landscape maintenance to ensure optimal plant growth.”

A spokesperson from Aquilla Clean Energy said as soon as the company was made aware of the unintended issue, it proactively approached council and were currently at advanced stages of working through the matter with them.

Far North Solar Farms has been contacted for comment but has yet to provide a response.

Putiki Rd residents have previously raised other issues with solar farms being developed in the area.

In October 2025, Local Democracy Reporting highlighted residents’ concerns about resource consent changes being made that would allow the main entrance for the site to be in Putiki Rd.

The residents said they had received assurances when they first agreed to the solar farm that the entrance would be on Western Drain Rd.

Askey said a compromise had been reached over this matter.

Last year, residents also complained about Genesis Energy’s plan to build a 200ha, 136MWp solar farm at the northern end of Putiki Rd.

Genesis has plans to run above ground power lines along their side of the road to connect to the Edgecumbe substation. This will put a large number of native and significant trees on the roadside at risk.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.