Labour tax hikes have caused ‘dramatic fall’ in entry-level jobs, says Next boss Lord Wolfson
Next’s boss has warned there will be a ‘dramatic decline’ in entry-level jobs thanks to the Government’s tax policies.
Lord Wolfson revealed that last year the retailer received 10 applications for every job in its stores, but that number has now almost doubled to 19.
“The fact that applicants for shop jobs have doubled is an indication of how big the crisis in youth unemployment is right now,” he told the BBC.
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics last week revealed that the unemployment rate for 18 to 24-year-olds is now at 14.7 per cent, the highest since 2014.
This rate for the entire population was 5 percent in the three months until March.
Lord Wolfson blamed the lack of entry-level opportunities on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions. This came into force in April 2025, along with increases in the minimum wage.
Unemployment rising: Chancellor’s tax rises on businesses are contributing to jobs crisis, with 19 hopefuls currently applying for every role at Next, says Lord Wolfson
He said: ‘Youth unemployment is actually a symptom of wider problems with employment in the economy and, of course, if you have fewer jobs, the people who suffer the most are the people with the least experience, and that’s the youngest.’
Wolfson also renewed his criticism of the Employment Rights Act, which effectively bans zero-hours contracts, which have been described as ‘abusive’ by the Government.
He says this will mean it will ‘become much more difficult’ for Next to offer more working hours to its employees.
Wolfson said he generally agreed with the idea of banning zero-hours contracts, but said it was more complex for the retail sector than other sectors. ‘You can’t afford to see the number of people in your store in February and around Christmas,’ he said.
‘This will be bad news for colleagues who want extra hours, especially students who need extra hours during holiday time, and of course it will be bad news for customers because the service won’t be as good.’
Minimum wage ‘prices out’ young workers
Lord Wolfson is among business leaders who have warned that a painful tax crackdown and sharp rises in the minimum wage are driving young workers out of work.
Analysis of employment figures against the WPI Strategy shows that since the Chancellor’s first appointment Budget In October 2024 – when he announced minimum wage rises as well as a £25bn National Insurance tax raid – the number of workers aged 34 and under had fallen by 296,000, while employment among those aged 35 and over had risen by 18,000.
Retailers and hospitality firms, which often offer young people their first experience of employment, have warned that high costs are making it difficult to create low-paying, part-time jobs.
The boss of Next has previously said the retailer has fewer staff in its stores, saying its wage bill has risen by £70 million a year.
But Next has managed to defy some of the pessimism experienced by high street retailers, raising its full-year profit expectations by 6.2 per cent to £1.2bn in the first three months of the year.
‘If you look at the retail industry over the last 25 years, seventy to 80 per cent of the names that were there in that time have disappeared,’ Lord Wolfson said. And what you can’t do is, we’re not going to run the business for profit, because if you don’t run the business for profit, you can’t stay in business.’
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