More than half (55 percent) of senior HR, reward and benefits professionals are more worried about the economic situation than they were on 2 April, 2025, when the US president unveiled swingeing global trade tariffs.
The April announcement by Donald Trump sent global markets into a tailspin, and an exclusive snap poll from Benefits Expert has revealed that economic confidence among many HR leaders has yet to recover.
The poll, conducted during the latest Benefits Expert Benefits Unboxed Live! Webinar on 3 July, also found that since Trump’s “Liberation Day” only 6 percent of respondents felt ‘a little more hopeful’, while no one was ‘much more hopeful’. Around a third (35 percent) felt no more or less hopeful about the economic situation, while 3 percent were not sure.
The findings mirror concerns about the UK economy as the latest GDP data showed it had unexpectedly dipped 0.1 percent in May.
At the weekend (12, 13 July), Trump reignited trade tariff concerns by announcing he will impose 30 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union (from 1 August) and Mexico. The announcement was met with disappointment from both the EU and Mexico.
Steve Herbert, veteran HR, employee benefits, and economic commentator, and brand ambassador at Occupational Health Assessment, said: “The Benefits Expert poll suggests that more than half of the senior HR experts questioned remain worried about the economic outlook for the UK. This finding is unsurprising given the financial shocks of recent years, the lack of consistent growth in the UK economy, and the concerns that further tax rises could be announced in the chancellor’s Budget statement this autumn.
“That said, there is now some limited room for UK economic optimism over the medium term.
The global financial markets have steadied after the initial shock of Trump’s tariff announcements made in April. Indeed, those markets now seem far less concerned about the increasingly random nature of such statements made by the US president. Another positive is that the UK is one of only two major nations to secure a trade deal with the US in the months since the initial announcements, thus ensuring some form of trans-Atlantic trading and business continuity in the short-term.”
Trade ties
He added: “Perhaps more importantly the government has also secured an important trade deal with India, the world’s fifth biggest economy. Likewise, the economic ties with the UK’s largest trading partner the EU have been quietly strengthened also. These moves will help open up new opportunities for the UK economy and reduce the risk of reliance on the US/UK trading relationship in the longer term.
“Nevertheless, the economic situation remains very finely balanced indeed. It follows that HR professionals should continue to do all they can to improve employee engagement, reduce absence, and contain staff turnover. In such delicate economic times these simple measures can make a significant difference to the productivity and profitability of their employer.”
