UK business trading status survey
The share of UK businesses that are fully trading, partially trading, paused or permanently closed, asked every two weeks since June 2020 and split across fourteen industries and five employee size bands.
| Indicator | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | 08-2025 | 07-2025 | 06-2025 | 05-2025 | 04-2025 | 03-2025 | 02-2025 | 01-2025 | 12-2024 | 11-2024 | 10-2024 | 09-2024 | 08-2024 | 07-2024 | 06-2024 | 05-2024 | 04-2024 | 03-2024 | 02-2024 | 01-2024 | 12-2023 | 11-2023 | 10-2023 | 09-2023 | 08-2023 | |
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| Trading status7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currently fully trading20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currently partially trading19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paused trading, intends to restart8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paused trading, no intention to restart14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Permanently ceased trading14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currently fully trading (weighted by employment)20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currently partially trading (weighted by employment)19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concern about energy prices3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Very concerned about energy prices20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Somewhat concerned about energy prices20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Not concerned about energy prices20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concern about fuel prices3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Very concerned about fuel price increases20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Somewhat concerned about fuel price increases20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Not concerned about fuel price increases20 |
Latest reading
All businesses stood at 84.6% in Aug 2026. That is −0.5 pp from Jul 2026 and −1.0 pp from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Sep 2021 to Aug 2026. Source: ONS — Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).
- Latest
- 84.6%
- Aug 2026
- vs previous period
- −0.5 pp
- Jul 2026
- vs a year earlier
- −1.0 pp
About this data
The share of UK businesses that are fully trading, partially trading, paused or permanently closed, asked every two weeks since June 2020 and split across fourteen industries and five employee size bands. Two weightings sit side by side: weighting by business count answers how many firms are affected, weighting by employment answers how many jobs sit behind them, and the gap between the two lines is itself the story — when the count line falls faster than the employment line, it is small firms that are stopping.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the UK business trading status survey?
- The survey measures the percentage of UK enterprises that are fully trading, partially trading, paused, or permanently closed, drawn from the ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).
- Which business cost concerns are tracked alongside trading status?
- The dataset includes the proportion of UK businesses expressing concern about energy prices and fuel prices across various sectors.
- What breakdowns are provided in the UK business trading status table?
- Data are disaggregated across industry sectors—including manufacturing, construction, retail, and accommodation—and five employee size bands ranging from 0-9 to 250+ employees.
- How far back does the UK business trading status survey go?
- Monthly data compiled from ONS BICS surveys are available starting from 2020 and continue to update with each publication round.
