Insightful work from the FT’s Chris Giles, who has dug out a couple of academic articles – including one
co-authored, in 2007, by George Osborne’s current chief of staff, Rupert Harrison – to work out how many jobs Labour’s national insurance rise might cost the economy. The results? Well,
according to Giles, one says that 23,000 jobs will be lost, and the other comes up with 22,000.
Neither of these are figures that Labour will want to crow about. But, as Giles points out, they are below the “57,000 jobs in small and medium-sized businesses alone” that the Conservatives predict in their manifesto. And they suggest that the national insurance hike will have a smaller effect on private sector employment than the Conservatives’ planned efficiency savings will have on public sector employment.
Hang on a second, though.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in