Entry-level jobs could become scarce due to National Insurance bill, warns Next boss
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A rise in minimum wage as well as National Insurance has put retailers on alert to lift prices this year. The boss of retailer Next has suggested that people may find it more difficult to find entry-level jobs in the coming year, due to businesses facing cost pressures through the rises in minimum wage and National Insurance (NI).
Next have already intimated they will look to offset some of the additional costs they’ll face by rising prices one per cent across their range in 2025, but the wider UK retail sector has been warned of a tough year ahead. The clothing retailer was one of several signatories last year to a letter asking the government to rethink Budget measures, saying job losses on the high street would be inevitable. Rachel Reeves has stuck with the original course of action however, with the chancellor believing it to be “the right decisions in the national interest” as the chase for economic growth continues.
A report from ONS yesterday indicated a slight 0.1 per cent growth in the UK economy for November, but retail sales fell by 0.3 per cent in December - due to food, rather than clothing in this instance, which had a 4.4 per cent rise. Lord Wolfson explained that while the increase in tax on a £60,000-a-year job equated to around 2 per cent, the increase for a part-time living wage worker was around 6.5 per cent, meaning they were likely to be disproportionately affected by changes.
“The axe has fallen particularly hard on those entry-level, National Living Wage jobs, and that’s where the pain is going to be felt the most,” he said. “My worry is that it’s going to be harder and harder for people to enter the workforce.”.
