Redundancy notices surge to their highest level since the covid pandemic

By JOHN-PAUL FORD ROJAS, DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR Published: 01:00, 30 May 2026 | Updated: 01:16, 30 May 2026 Redundancy plans by employers have surged to the highest level since the pandemic according to stark new figures that underline Britain's growing jobs crisis under Labour. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said firms were giving notices of planned lay-offs at a rate of 8,900 a week, 76 per cent up on the same period last year. Its figures were compiled using forms companies are obliged to submit to the insolvency service if they plan to make 20 or more redundancies over coming weeks. They suggest that Britain's growing jobs crunch is only set to worsen as bosses carry through on these plans. Already, unemployment has risen to 5 per cent as gloom descends across the economy. Companies battered by Labour's tax hikes, minimum wage increases and workers' rights rules are now facing a further squeeze as Donald Trump's Iran war pushes up costs. The resultant inflation fears have pushed up borrowing rates, adding to the pain for firms. Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith said: 'This sign of impending redundancies is more bad news for a jobs market broken by Labour's tax hikes and 1970s-style employment laws. Your browser does not support iframes. Redundancy plans by employers have surged to the highest level since the pandemic according to stark new figures that underline Britain's growing jobs crisis under Labour (stock photo) 'Everything points to ministers needing to change course without delay.' The potential redundancies figure was the weekly average for the four weeks to 17 May. It showed a sharp 24 per cent increase from just a week earlier. It has not been higher since December 2020 when Covid-19 lockdowns were crushing the economy. The figure has more than doubled from less than 4,000 at the time Labour came to power in 2024. It came a day after separate ONS data showed the number of 16-24 year olds not in employment, education or training had risen to more than a million for the first time since the end of 2013. Critics of Labour's anti-business policies say that it is young people who are bearing the brunt of Britain's jobs crunch. Earlier this week, Next boss Simon Wolfson said they were causing a 'dramatic fall' in entry-level job opportunities as national insurance and minimum wage hikes had pushed up the cost of such roles to employers by 14 per cent. And Stephen Burns, boss of ten-pin bowling operator Hollywood Bowl, said it was now hiring staff with experience over younger people because of cost increases. Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith joined Tory leader during a visit to the High Street in Goldaming, Surrey, in February   Yesterday, figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) showed that hiring intentions by UK employers were falling. REC chief executive Neil Carberry said: 'Most pessimism around all short- and medium-term hiring is now coming from small businesses who will be feeling the squeeze of government-imposed cost rises most.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.