The National Insurance rise will kick in at the same time as an increase in the National Living Wage by a higher-than-expected 6.7pc. Companies also face higher costs from Labour’s Employment Rights Bill.
Logistics, hospitality, retail and small manufacturing companies will be the hardest hit by the tax changes. Mr Carberry said: “In these sectors, automation, offshoring where possible, lower pay rises for those not on the national minimum wage and higher prices will be used [to offset the impact].”
Youth unemployment is rising rapidly, with the rate of joblessness among 16 to 24-year-olds rising from 12.1pc last year to 14.8pc today. Mr Reed said the offshoring of jobs threatened to make the problem worse.
He said: “Graduate jobs have been hit hard over the last few months, so I’m worried about the opportunities available to young people coming into the workplace.”
Mr Reed said the Budget would cost his company millions of pounds but said he would resist pressure to offshore roles.
He said: “We’re very committed to the UK, we’re a UK family business. I don’t want to offshore jobs, I want the jobs to be here. So, we will persevere but it is going to make it harder to make a return and invest more in the business because it’s an immediate hit to our bottom line.”
A Government spokesman said: “With our public services crumbling and an inherited £22bn fiscal black hole from the previous government, we had to make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country and restore desperately needed economic stability to allow businesses to thrive.
“By doing this, more than half of employers will either see a cut or no change in their National Insurance bills. There will be £22.6bn more for the NHS and workers’ payslips will be protected from higher tax. This Government is committed to delivering economic growth by boosting investment and rebuilding Britain.”
