Calls for tax cuts as job vacancies fall for eight month in a row and number of companies going bust doubles
- Vacancies across UK fell by 51,000 to 1.12million in the three months to February
- Read: Tax-free pension allowance to hit £1.8m in Hunt’s ‘Budget for Jobs’
Job vacancies have fallen for the eighth month in a row and the number of companies going bust has doubled in the latest sign that firms are crying out for a boost from a Budget day tax cut.
Vacancies across the UK fell by 51,000 to 1.12million in the three months to February, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
That is still close to record highs but the ONS said the decline ‘reflects uncertainty across industries’ and ‘economic pressures’.
Separate figures from the Insolvency Service showed there were 158 compulsory liquidations last month, more than twice the number in February 2022.
Job vacancies have fallen for the eighth month in a row and the number of companies going bust has doubled in the latest sign that firms are crying out for a boost from a Budget day tax cut
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (pictured) has shown no sign of wavering on the tax plan. But reports suggest he could be preparing a new policy offering tax breaks for business investment to replace the super deduction
It comes amid warnings that firms face a ‘double whammy’ in April when corporation tax rises to 25 per cent and the super deduction – a generous tax break offered to those investing in factories and machinery – comes to an end.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has shown no sign of wavering on the tax plan. But reports suggest he could be preparing a new policy offering tax breaks for business investment to replace the super deduction. Brian McBride, president of the Confederation of British Industry, said Mr Hunt ‘must act’ to prevent investors being spooked.
The ONS figures showed unemployment remained at just 3.7 per cent in the three months to January, but that pay growth was slowing.
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