Labour's jobs downturn: Fall in payrolls and vacancies gathers pace as Rachel Reeves' NICs raid hits - with unemployment nudging up

Fears are mounting for the UK jobs marketplace contiguous arsenic figures showed a slowdown aft Rachel Reeves' taxation raid hit.

Numbers connected payrolls were down 33,000 successful April according to aboriginal estimates, having dropped 106,000 successful the past twelvemonth to 30.3million.

Vacancies besides tumbled 42,000 implicit the quarter, to 761,000 successful the 3 months from February to April. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) warned that the complaint of diminution appeared to beryllium increasing.

Unemployment was nudging up adjacent earlier the National Insurance hike and increases successful the minimum wage took effect past month. The complaint roseate to 4.5 per cent successful the 3 months to March, from 4.4 per cent successful the 3 months to February.

ONS manager of economical statistic Liz McKeown said: 'Wage maturation slowed somewhat successful the latest play but remains comparatively strong, with nationalist and backstage sectors present showing small difference.

'The broader representation continues to beryllium of the labour marketplace cooling, with the fig of employees connected payroll falling successful the archetypal 4th of the year. 

'The fig of occupation vacancies has besides fallen again, with the complaint of diminution expanding successful the past fewer months.'

Suren Thiru, economics manager astatine the ICAEW, said: 'April's driblet successful payrolled employment and unemployment complaint summation suggests that cracks successful the labour marketplace are widening arsenic the treble whammy of rising National Insurance and National Living Wage deed employers, exacerbated by elevated planetary uncertainty.

'While wage maturation remains uncomfortably high, the downward unit from a struggling economy, softening jobs marketplace and rising employment costs should assistance enactment wage settlements connected a firmer downward path.'

He added: 'This increasing softness successful the labour marketplace is improbable to beryllium capable to transportation complaint setters to depart from their existent attack to gradually cutting involvement rates, fixed lingering concerns implicit ostentation and heightened planetary uncertainty.'

Shadow enactment and pensions caput Helen Whately said: 'This is conscionable the latest successful a drawstring of bleak economical figures for the Government – and they bash not travel arsenic a surprise. Back successful October, the OBR warned that Labour's Jobs Tax would outgo 50,000 jobs, yet they pushed up with it anyway.

'It is wide that Labour's Jobs Tax and concern rates hike are putting an intolerable load connected employers, and with Employment Rights Bill acceptable to choke businesses successful reddish tape, things are lone going to get worse.'