Commenting on this morning’s release of ONS labour market data, Alex Hall-Chen, Principal Policy Advisor for Employment at the Institute of Directors, said:

“Despite a small increase in payrolled employees, the continued decline in job vacancies and increase in the unemployment rate reflect weak business hiring intentions as a result of the Government’s employment reforms.

“Our data shows that half (47%) of business leaders facing higher National Insurance bills plan to reduce employment in response, and that business hiring intentions over the next year remain around lows last seen at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Government missed an opportunity at Report Stage of the Employment Rights Bill to show that it has listened to business feedback about how to avoid the reforms damaging employment prospects.

“The Government’s Better Regulation Action Plan is a welcome shift in narrative, but such commitments will ring hollow if the principles are not first applied to its plans to increase the regulation and cost associated with employing staff.”