Employer confidence falls to lowest level since 2012 as the introduction of living wage looms
Employer confidence is at a three-year low, a new survey of 2,000 companies shows.
Data from recruiters Manpower show that the UK has a net employment outlook of four per cent, when you subtract the number of companies who intend to reduce staffing levels from those intending to hire.
Manpower attributes this to employers worried about the impact of the national living wage, which will be introduced from April next year, which echoes the OBR’s warning this summer that it could lead to 60,000 job losses.
James Hick managing director at Manpower told Morning Wire: “We have to ask ourselves why are we seeing the lowest confidence levels since 2012, our insight tells us the living wage is what employers are really concerned about.”
Hick added: “There are wider implications, it will affect how employers manage their pay, potentially having to keep pay down.”
The Institute of Economic Affairs told Morning Wire: “Mandating ever-higher wages imposes high costs on businesses, so it’s unsurprising that government intervention in wage-setting already seems to be having an effect on the labour market.”