Chancellor’s Job Tax is Increasing Unemployment
The SNP has warned that the Labour government is taking the economy in the wrong direction, with rising unemployment and a new cost of living crisis on the horizon.
It comes after Sainsbury’s became the latest business to announce job cuts following the National Insurance tax hike.
This week the UK’s second-largest supermarket announced it will cut 3,000 jobs due to rising costs, after the Labour government increased taxes on employers in its October Budget.
Chief executive Simon Roberts blamed “a particularly challenging cost environment” for the cuts, which amount to 2% of its workforce and 20% of senior management roles. Clive Black, head of consumer research at Shore Capital, said the cuts were “increasingly necessary steps post the autumn Budget… Whilst very difficult, such steps are necessary to us, especially in the face of very considerable UK government-sourced cost expansion“.
It follows a series of warnings over price rises and job losses in everyday high street shops since the Labour government’s National Insurance tax hike. On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported the UK unemployment rate rose from 4.3% to 4.4% in December.
The ONS figures showed the number of payrolled employees was estimated to have fallen by 47,000 during the 12 months to December – the biggest drop since November 2020.
Earlier this month, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey revealed that more than half of firms were planning to raise their prices in response to tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves in October, and business confidence has slumped to its lowest levels since the wake of the Liz Truss mini budget. Separately, the S&P Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) found businesses were shedding jobs at the fastest pace since January 2021 in December.
BREAKING | Sainsbury’s cutting 3,000 jobs and shutting in-store cafes. https://t.co/6RvGnZQ9bF
— STV News (@STVNews) January 23, 2025
Labour have failed on the economy and employment just as they have failed WASPI women and pensioners.
GRAEME
They are taking the UK economy in the wrong direction, and people are starting to feel the impact of misguided policies like the hike to employers’ National Insurance contributions.
There is a clear risk of thousands more job losses in Scotland alongside the continuing price rises hitting households.
The Chancellor must urgently get a grip – far from things getting better under Labour, energy bills are up, prices are rising, jobs are being cut, the economy is stagnant, the pound has slumped, and UK borrowing costs are soaring.
