11-05-2025
Hiring plans cut due to minimum wage rise and uncertainty
The number of employers expecting to increase their headcount in the next three months has fallen to the lowest in the past decade, outside the pandemic.
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the net difference between the number of employers expecting an increase in staff levels and those expecting a decrease in the next three months fell to 8, the lowest level outside the pandemic since the CIPD began recording the measure in 2014. The net balance on the CIPD's index was 13 in the last quarter.
The figure fell particularly sharply among large private-sector employers and retail businesses but public-sector employers are also struggling, especially in the education sector.
Thirty-two per cent of private-sector employers surveyed by the CIPD said
