{
  "id": 18028545,
  "title": "Minimum wage hikes push up cost of employing a single worker ‘by over £4,000’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/minimum-wage-hikes-push-up-cost-of-employing-a-single-worker-by-over",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-03T22:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/minimum-wage-hikes-push-up-cost-of-employing-a-single-worker-by-over-4000/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Centre for Policy Studies has found that the cost of employing a full-time worker on the minimum wage has increased by at least £4,462 annually between 2024 and 2027. This rise is even higher for those aged 18 to 20, soaring by £4,859 per year. The Labour government's aim to equalise wages between young people and others has driven this increase. Employers are facing a 20% cost rise for certain employees due to these minimum wage hikes. The British Chambers of Commerce reported a 70% rise in business costs over the past decade, primarily due to tax increases and higher minimum wages. Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves' efforts to raise the minimum wage have sparked mixed reactions. Employer groups like the Confederation of British Industry have called for an independent salary-setting group to consider business costs when determining pay raises. Unions, however, have pushed for addressing the living costs faced by young people. At the recent Budget, John Healey adjusted the minimum wage for under 21-year-olds to match the national living wage for adults, acknowledging the challenges businesses are facing. Healey's decision was seen as considering business cost pressures during a difficult period for them. Daniel Herring from the Centre for Policy Studies praised the move, noting that it followed a decade of above-inflation increases in the cost of employing minimum wage workers, with business costs rising by approximately twice the rate of inflation since 2024.",
  "summary": "Minimum wage increases brought forward by the Labour government have pushed up the annual cost of employing a single worker by over £4,000, new analysis has shown, adding to a mountain of cost pressures facing businesses. Estimates by the Centre for Policy Studies, a free-market think tank, found that between 2024 and 2027 the annual [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}