One in eight companies impacted by strikes in October

Around one in eight businesses said they were impacted by strikes in October as industrial action picks up around the country amid soaring costs for workers.

New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested that 13% of companies think they were affected by industrial action during the month, with train strikes likely impacting companies the most.

Transport unions walked out for several days in October, demanding better pay as their members faced a soaring cost of living.

Consumer price inflation rose by more than 11% in the year to October, putting major pressure on household budgets.

The latest data from the ONS found that 46% of businesses said they were not impacted by industrial action last month.

The businesses impacted by the strikes will likely include the businesses themselves, but also those who rely on the trains to get their staff to work, among others.

The survey by the ONS found that a little over 8% of companies said they did not know if the strikes impacted them, nearly a third said that the question was “not applicable” to them.

Strikes are likely to continue impacting businesses this month and into next year. Eight days of strikes have been announced in December and January as around 40,000 members of the RMT union walk out.

The strike days will be spread out between December 13 and December 17 as well as between January 3 and January 7. If they go ahead it will be the biggest strikes on the railways for more than three decades.

In October the most impacted businesses were those in the sector titled “wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.” More than 18% of these companies said they were impacted.

Accommodation and food companies were the second worst hit by the strikes, according to the survey.

The least hit sector was “other services,” where only 4.4% of companies said they had been impacted. It was followed by the arts and entertainment and the real estate sectors.