Unemployment is up and the worst is yet to come, Chancellor Rachel Reeves was warned as employers reel at her “jobs tax”. The jobless rate hit its highest level for nearly four years while the number of available jobs slumped by 63,000 between March and May. There were just 736,000 vacancies – the lowest since April 2021.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith warned “things are about to get even worse” with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s overhaul of workers’ rights on the way.
He said: “Labour have to think again. Only businesses create jobs and wealth in the economy.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is under fire for her shock hike to employers’ National Insurance Contributions. The unemployment rate has ticked up from 4.5% to 4.6% for the three months to April.
The number of payrolled workers fell by 55,000 between March and April.
Jane Gratton of the British Chambers of Commerce warned “many firms are now freezing recruitment plans” while others are cutting staff numbers.
Liz McKeown of the Office for National Statistics, said: “There continues to be weakening in the labour market, with the number of people on payroll falling notably.”
She said feedback suggests “some firms may be holding back from recruiting new workers or replacing people when they move on”.
Julian Jessop of the Institute of Economic Affairs warned: “If you make it much more expensive to employ people, fewer people will be employed.”
He said hospitality and retail have suffered as a result of increasing employment costs.
“The one silver lining is that the cooling in the labour market will make it easier for the Bank of England to keep cutting interest rates,” he said. “But even this is a mixed blessing, because it reflects the renewed weakness of economic activity and slowing wage growth.”
Daniel Herring of the Centre for Policy Studies warned Labour risks “destroying jobs” by making it “more expensive” to hire minimum wage workers.
Paige Tao, an economist at PwC UK, said employers faced the triple-blow of “rising national insurance costs, a higher minimum wage and escalating global tariffs”.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: “The latest job figures are absolutely disastrous. Labour has shattered confidence in our economy and inflicted serious, long-term damage.”
Labour employment minister Alison McGovern claimed there were half a million more people in work than when her party took power, with people “benefiting from increased training opportunities”.