Firms are reluctant to hire and unemployment is rising, as inflation dulls the impact of higher wages
Tuesday’s latest snapshot of the UK jobs market shows what is becoming a familiar pattern: a gradual slowdown in hiring, rising unemployment, yet with wage growth still uncomfortably high for policymakers.
Whether because of Rachel Reeves’s £25bn national insurance increase, uncertainty over her upcoming budget, AI-related disruption or Donald Trump’s tariffs – or perhaps all four – companies seem to be cautious about taking on staff.
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