A rebound in hiring could be arrested by the £26 billion increase in national insurance contributions set out by Rachel Reeves at the budget, researchers said, as more industries joined warnings that the move would lead to job losses and cancelled investment.
An employment index compiled by the accounting firm BDO rose from 95.45 points in September to 96 points in October, indicating an improvement in the labour market, which has been restrained by higher borrowing costs and subdued demand from consumers.
The rise reversed a period of decline for the index that lasted 15 months, the longest since January 2005, but the increase in employment could lose momentum thanks to the chancellor’s decision to increase the main rate of employer national insurance contributions to