Confidence is contagious – and so is a lack of it. The old maxim applies in economics as much as on a sports pitch or a battlefield. High morale and a dose of optimism can carry a group forward, while a slump can send it fleeing in panic.

It’s fair to say that the current state of economic confidence in the UK is glum. Consumer confidence is bumping along at a pessimistic -17, according to GfK. Household savings are running near the highest rate for a decade, excluding the pandemic, suggesting many are battening down the hatches ahead of a storm.

According to YouGov, almost as many people now believe their financial situation will get worse in the next 12 months (33 per cent) as believe they will experience no change (37 per cent), while only 22 per cent expect their circumstances to get better. A year ago, the optimists and pessimists were on level pegging.

Among businesses, the story is even more grim. New figures from the Institute of Directors’ Economic Confidence Index rank the outlook among business leaders at -73, after hitting an all-time record low of -74 in September.

These aren’t hypothetical concepts or idle boardroom chatter; they reflect real concerns and conditions in the economy, and in turn they have concrete impacts on all of our lives. When investors and employers lack confidence, they cancel spending decisions, postpone hiring or even choose to shed jobs.

According to the latest ONS figures, the number of people on payroll in the UK fell by more than 100,000........

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