Rise in unemployment was inevitable after the increase in National Insurance Contributions
A rise in unemployment was inevitable after the increase in employer’s National Insurance Contributions (NIC), say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Robert Salter, a director at the firm, said: “The Office of National Statistics latest report shows that 4.7% of people are now registered as unemployed, an increase from 4.4% in January 2025. This was inevitable, following the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, decision to increase employer’s NIC to 15% from April 2025.”
He added: “However, while the rate of people treated as unemployed has increased, the government will likely focus on the fact that the overall employment figures remain strong with over 30m people in employment and the increase in joblessness for June is only 8,000 above the figure for May.”
Robert said: “There are glimmers of hope in these statistics, but thousands of graduates and school leavers are hitting the job market, which has had a sharp drop of over 40,000 in vacancies. Rachel Reeves is facing a ‘perfect storm’ economically of higher inflation, less jobs and limited pay rises, as she prepares for the Autumn budget.”