{"id":124832,"date":"2025-09-09T09:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T09:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/124832\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T09:34:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T09:34:11","slug":"uk-businesses-cut-jobs-at-fastest-pace-in-four-years-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/124832\/","title":{"rendered":"UK businesses cut jobs at fastest pace in four years, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK businesses have cut jobs at the fastest pace in more than four years this summer, as firms continue to struggle with tax rises introduced under last year\u2019s autumn budget<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bank Of England\u2019s latest Decision Maker Panel<\/a> survey of 2,126 companies found firms reduced employment by an annual rate of 0.5 per cent in the three months to August, the fastest since 2021.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Companies also reported that annual wage growth was\u00a04.6 per cent in the three months to August, 0.1 percentage points lower than in the three months to July. Expectations for employment growth over the next year also weakened, falling by 0.3 percentage points to 0.2 per cent in the three months to August.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two in five firms facing staff shortages amid fastest job cuts in four years, reports find<\/a><\/p>\n

UK firms slashing jobs at record rate, study finds<\/a><\/p>\n

Employers face biggest redundancy surge in a decade as hiring confidence plummets, CIPD research finds<\/a><\/p>\n

Almost half (46 per cent) of respondents said they had cut staff as a result of changes to employer national insurance (NI) contributions.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s budget saw employer NI rates<\/a> increase from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, with the rise coming into force in April this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The survey also found 66 per cent of firms had lowered profit margins, 34 per cent had raised prices and 20 per cent were paying lower wages than they otherwise would have done.<\/p>\n

However, the central bank noted that fewer firms reported price rises, lower employment or lower wages before the higher NI rate took effect.<\/p>\n

Business leaders voice concerns<\/p>\n

Gerard Boon, managing director of mortgage brokerage Boon Brokers, said the statistics reflected a \u201cdeeply concerning reality\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRising operational costs, weak productivity, the cost of living crisis and broader economic fragility have all helped create the perfect storm and businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s recent changes to NI contributions had added pressure when the economy needed relief, Boon explained. These pressures could lead to lower confidence in the job market and an increase in redundancies. \u201cFirms are not simply trimming excess, they are being pushed into restructuring to survive in a climate where revenues are constrained and future growth is uncertain,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves is set to deliver this year\u2019s autumn budget in late November, with speculation suggesting it will include further tax rises, according to the Guardian<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Implications for the labour market<\/p>\n

As businesses struggle to adapt to policy changes, Boon warned that the ongoing pressures would have significant consequences on jobs. \u201cJob security will remain fragile, and slower hiring will inevitably persist into 2026, particularly in sectors most exposed to cost pressures,\u201d he said, adding that households were likely to face increased financial stress, which would in turn lead to lower spending and slower economic growth. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout strategic interventions \u2013 whether targeted support for struggling businesses, incentives for hiring or measures to boost productivity \u2013 the labour market continues to decline under increasing and sustained pressure,\u201d Boon added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he said the survey was not just about job cuts, but a \u201cwarning about broader economic resilience and the trajectory of the UK economy\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more resources on hiring, visit the CIPD\u2019s dedicated topic hub<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UK businesses have cut jobs at the fastest pace in more than four years this summer, as firms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[84,1371,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-124832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-jobs","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}