Unemployment has surged to a four-year high, according to fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics. The rate is now at 4.7% in the three months to May. Above expectations of 4.6%…
The estimate of people on the payroll for June was down another 41,000. Reeves’ business-bashing taxes are once again being blamed, with the rate of unemployed people jumping after her ‘Awful April’ bills – NICs hikes and minimum wage increases – came into effect. ONS economic director Liz McKeown said:
“The job market continues to weaken. The number of job vacancies is still falling and has now been dropping continuously for three years.”
The Jobs Foundation’s Matthew Elliott said:
“Today’s figures confirm that the UK is now in the midst of a serious jobs recession. The steepest fall in employment since the pandemic is a serious wake-up call to the Government. The hike to Employer NICs has had the predicted damaging impact on jobs, and businesses are now worrying about further tax rises to come in the Autumn Budget.”
This comes a day after inflation rose by more than expected. And this is all before Labour’s anti-jobs Employment Bill comes into effect…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”