The boss of Asda said hiring young people involves ‘more hurdles than the Grand National’ as hikes in the minimum wage leave half of firms looking to recruit older staff.
With companies facing rising taxes and costs, Allan Leighton said the Government should be encouraging businesses to create entry-level jobs instead of making it harder.
‘The number one problem is that there’s not enough support to get young people into business,’ he said, echoing yesterday’s warning in the Daily Mail from Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Machin that Britain is ‘letting down a generation of kids’.
The comments came as a survey by consultancy firm RSM found 50 per cent of employers plan to recruit more experienced workers following next week’s jump in minimum pay for the under-21s.
Nearly a third say they will reduce entry level roles in a blow to school leavers and graduates looking for their first job.
‘The job market is about to get tougher for those trying to find their first step on the career ladder,’ said RSM’s Chris Robson.
Hard times: Nearly a third of employers say they will reduce entry level roles in a blow to school leavers and graduates looking for their first job
Next week’s rise in minimum wage rates will see pay for 18-to 20-year-olds jump 8.5 per cent to £10.85 an hour, while those aged 21 and over will get a 4.1 per cent hike to £12.71.
It comes as Labour presses ahead with plans to axe age bands for the minimum wage despite warnings it is pricing young people out of jobs.
As well as facing increased wage costs, firms will next week see business rates and statutory sick pay increase just as fuel and energy bills soar as a result of conflict in the Middle East.
Leighton said Asda will ‘double down’ on hiring apprentices but added: ‘It is getting harder to hire young people. You have to go over more hurdles than the Grand National.’
Lord Wolfson, boss of Next, said: ‘With everything that we’ve been saying about entry level jobs being difficult, it doesn’t feel like the right time [to raise the minimum wage].’
Hikes in the minimum wage are set to cost hospitality and retail employers an extra £3.3billion in the next 12 months, according to UKHospitality and the British Retail Consortium.
Many shops, hotels and restaurants will see their business rates increase from next week, too.
The average English hotel’s bill will rise by 30 per cent, or £28,900, to £125,300 in April, while a typical restaurant faces a jump of £1,800 (15 per cent) on the current average of £12,200, analysis by UKHospitality shows.
And a typical independent shop will see its charge for the commercial property levy rise 15 per cent, or £1,796, to £13,772, rates experts Colliers said.
UKHospitality boss Kate Nicholls said: ‘Once again, hard-pressed hospitality businesses are being hit with billions of pounds in additional annual costs. It is not acceptable to balance the books on the backs of High Street businesses, and it will simply result in more lost jobs, more business closures and less vibrant high streets.’
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