Firms in Devon 'holding back' on new jobs ahead of Budget
Some businesses are calling for the costs of employing staff to be brought down in the Budget on Wednesday.
A publisher from Tavistock, Devon, said he was "holding back" from filling two new positions at his firm because of the cost of taking on new employees.
At the Devon Business Show some firms said they had been struggling for the past two years to deal with the increases in employer's National Insurance contributions introduced in 2024, while also coping with increases in the National Minimum Wage.
Chancellor John Healey will deliver his first Budget on Wednesday but has refused to rule out tax increases.
Tim Randell from Links Publishing wants to see a reduction in the costs of employing staff.
Michelle Bunker, from WGP Maintenance, in Plymouth, said she had one clear message for the chancellor: "I want to see National Insurance contributions starting to go down."
Tim Randell added: "All we've had for the last two Budgets is more tax, more expense, the living wage, and all those things mean that people like me are not employing the young."
Kevin Miller, the boss of Apex HR, in Plymouth, echoed this sentiment, stating that small businesses, the "backbone of the whole economy", needed help.
Elsbeth Hallam, from Plymouth-based Hugs Children's Cancer Charity, noted the impact of the cost of living crisis on charities as well as businesses.
Pete Adams, general manager of the Moxy Hotel in Plymouth, expressed similar concerns about the impact of rising costs on business operations.