More pain for Reeves as the jobless rate hits 4.4%

RACHEL Reeves was yesterday accused of creating a "hiring recession" after unemployment rose unexpectedly and the total number of job vacancies fell.

- Martyn Brown Political Editor

The jobless rate edged up from 4.3% to 4.4% amid the fallout over Budget changes Numbers on payrolls shrank by 47,000 to 30.3 million in December, the biggest drop since November 2020. Office for National Statistics data also showed vacancies fell to their lowest in more than three years.

The Budget rise in employers' national insurance was blamed for the gloomy figures and experts say that the picture may worsen when the measures start in April.

Michael Stull, director at recruitment giants ManpowerGroup UK, said: "Employer national insurance increases and threshold changes won't come into effect until April, meaning it's probable the UK's hiring recession is going to continue for some time yet."