The chamber described the survey as revealing some of the most downbeat forecasts since the pandemic.
Describing the budget as “business-bashing” Alex Brown, from the chamber’s policy team, said: “Increased national insurance (NI) and minimum wage rates alone have prompted businesses to warn of redundancies.”
A professional services business said: “We have more taxes to pay, wages, energy and rents costs all increase annually, but we are still in a competitive market, so our charge-out rates can’t keep up.”
And a construction company criticised increased employers’ NI contributions and said: “Our NI costs are approximately £16,000 up.”