The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has said Chancellor John Healey's Budget will leave jobseekers waiting longer than necessary for a strong jobs recovery, arguing that the Government is still not creating the right conditions for firms to grow, hire and invest.
Maxine Bligh, Interim Chief Executive of the recruitment industry body, said: "The Chancellor has failed to hit the bullseye on business confidence to hire today."
Regulation and employment costs
Bligh said too much regulation is still landing on employers because of employment reforms that "place process ahead of practical outcomes". The REC wants recruitment agencies exempted from the new guaranteed hours rules so that young people can keep entering the labour market through temporary work.
She added that the Budget does not provide a broad, phased restoration of the employer National Insurance threshold, and that employers are still waiting for more flexibility in the Growth and Skills Levy and more support for shorter, targeted training. "Together, those measures would have done far more to encourage hiring and investment," she said.
Retail and hospitality
The REC welcomed small business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure as a short-term help. Bligh pointed to the body's Report on Jobs, which shows that both permanent and temporary retail vacancies were last growing in July 2023, while permanent hospitality vacancies last rose in August 2024.
But she warned that the minimum wage increases announced in the Budget add to the pressure on employers already facing rising costs. "Government must not allow the National Minimum Wage to become a disincentive to hire younger jobseekers," she said. "There is still too much delay in taking the big decisions that could help get the jobs market firing."
