The October DMP survey was conducted between 3 and 17 October* and received 2,065 responses.
Firms reported that their realised annual own-price growth fell slightly, by 0.1 percentage points to 3.8% in the three months to October. Note that the DMP covers own prices from firms across the whole economy, not just consumer-facing firms.
In the three months to October, firms on average expected their year-ahead own-price inflation to be 3.7% unchanged from the three months to September. This implies that firms expect a small fall in own-price inflation over the next year.
Expectations for year-ahead CPI inflation remained unchanged at 3.4% in the three months to October. The corresponding measure for three-year-ahead CPI inflation expectations rose by 0.1 percentage points to 3.0% in the three months to October.
Firms reported that annual wage growth was 4.5% in the three months to October, falling by 0.1 percentage points since the three months to September. Expected year-ahead wage growth rose by 0.1 percentage points to 3.7%. This implies that firms expected their wage growth to decline by 0.8 percentage points over the next 12 months.
Firms reported that realised annual employment growth was -0.3% in the three months to October, up from -0.5% in the three months to September but at historically weak rates. Expectations for employment growth over the next year also fell slightly by 0.1 percentage points to -0.1% in the three months to October.
Across August to October, the DMP survey asked firms about their margins of adjustment to the changes in employer National insurance contributions (NICs) implemented in April 2025. Firms were allowed to select more than one option. On average, 64% of firms reported lowering profit margins, 44% lowering employment, 37% raising prices, and 17% paying lower wages than they otherwise would have done.