Employment figures fall in the UK

I think this will be in the news a lot today, newspapers report that:

“Payroll numbers and vacancies fell as businesses braced for Labour's brutal tax raid last month.

The number of employees on the books of companies was down 78,000 to 30.3million in March, according to official figures.

Meanwhile vacancies were down 26,000 quarter-on-quarter to 781,000. It was the first time since 2021 they had dipped below pre-Covid levels.”

Suren Thiru, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Economics Director, said:

'These figures indicate that labour market activity was sluggish in the run-up to this month's substantial surge in tax and tariff costs, with unease over these twin threats limiting hiring plans.

'The UK's jobs market is entering a turbulent period with a troubling mix of escalating global uncertainty and rising cost pressures, notably the national insurance hike, likely to moderately push up unemployment, despite continued challenges over skills shortages.