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Are you or your mate struggling to get a
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job? This might be why. A whole range of
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surveys have suggested the jobs market
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is struggling. New research by KPMG and
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a leading industry body have said the
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number of job seekers rose sharply in
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December due to more redundancies.
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Demand for new hires among companies
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also dropped according to the data. This
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tops off a pretty dire year for the UK's
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jobs market after the unemployment rate
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increased throughout the year. In other
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words, millions of people across the
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country are struggling to get employed
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as vacancies are down, hiring trends are
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falling, and wage growth is easing. Top
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economists have put this all down to one
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thing in particular, the cost of hiring
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more people. These costs, which include
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wages as well as taxes, hit companies
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before profits. Chancellor Rachel
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Reeves's decision to raise the national
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living wage by significant amounts
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across two consecutive years is hitting
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hospitality and retail firms in
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particular. The new rise set to come
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into effect in April is expected to come
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alongside a wave of new workers rights
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reforms introduced through the
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employment rights bill led by former
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deputy prime minister Angela Raina and
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pushed through by business secretary
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Peter Kyle. These changes on day one
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rights, guaranteed pay, the abolition of
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zero hours contracts, and terms of
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dealing with top union bosses are adding
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on to the load of costs for firms
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because companies may have to factor in
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new wage pressures and labor demands.
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Internal government analysis said that
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the new rights could cost the UK economy
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1 billion pounds each year. And
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economists within the public sector also
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expect the number of employment tribunal
