Rahul has been looking for a job for over three months.
“I got made redundant as part of cutoffs in early Feb, so I’ve been looking for a job since then,” he says. “It is a numbers game. I’ve definitely sent like over 100. I do get responses, but it’s about focussing on what you can control.”
He’s not alone. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the UK’s jobs market is weakening.
Job vacancies are declining, the number of people in employment is falling, and unemployment is rising. The data is the first available since the government’s national insurance changes came into effect last month.Some economists are now linking those tax changes to the downturn in the labour market.
‘It potentially could be affecting employers decisions,’ explains Monica George-Michail, economist from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
‘I think some other surveys that look at that say that, yes, overall economic uncertainty, this increase in the NICs and also the national minimum wage might be influencing employers’ decision to hire.’
Even for low-paid roles, the increased cost of national insurance adds around £1,000 per employee per year, according to estimates.
The government argues the policy is unavoidable – But while the government looks to fix the public finances, people like Rahul are still looking for work.
Necessary or not, the latest figures suggest the jobs market is suffering — with more people out of work, lower productivity, and growing reliance on the state.
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HeadlineJobseekers Struggle as UK Unemployment Rises
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Rahul has been looking for a job for over three months.
“I got made redundant as part of cutoffs in early Feb, so I’ve been looking for a job since then,” he says. “It is a numbers game. I’ve definitely sent like over 100. I do get responses, but it’s about focussing on what you can control.”
He’s not alone. New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the UK’s jobs market is weakening.
Job vacancies are declining, the number of people in employment is falling, and unemployment is rising. The data is the first available since the government’s national insurance changes came into effect last month.Some economists are now linking those tax changes to the downturn in the labour market.
‘It potentially could be affecting employers decisions,’ explains Monica George-Michail, economist from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
‘I think some other surveys that look at that say that, yes, overall economic uncertainty, this increase in the NICs and also the national minimum wage might be influencing employers’ decision to hire.’
Even for low-paid roles, the increased cost of national insurance adds around £1,000 per employee per year, according to estimates.
The government argues the policy is unavoidable – But while the government looks to fix the public finances, people like Rahul are still looking for work.
Necessary or not, the latest figures suggest the jobs market is suffering — with more people out of work, lower productivity, and growing reliance on the state.
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