{
  "id": 5193711,
  "title": "Retailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/retailers-urge-healey-to-unwind-national-insurance-hike-to-boost-jobs",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-02T23:01:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/retailers-urge-healey-to-unwind-national-insurance-hike-to-boost-jobs/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has urged Chancellor John Healey to repeal some of the national insurance reforms implemented by his predecessor, in an effort to address the youth unemployment crisis. In the 2024 Budget, then-Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased the employer national insurance contribution (NICs) rate to 15% and lowered the threshold at which bosses pay the tax from £9,100 to £5,000. Retailers are facing over £2.3 billion in additional costs due to these tax changes, according to the BRC. Recent wage hikes have added another £4.1 billion to the sector, the trade body reported. The BRC is urging Healey to raise the NICs threshold back to £6,000 at the upcoming Budget to incentivize retailers to hire more young people. Retail employment has decreased by 115,000 jobs in the past two years, with nearly a quarter of young people securing their initial jobs in the retail industry. The organization's chief executive, Helen Dickinson, emphasized that retail has historically been a significant entry point into the workforce, providing millions with their first job and the essential skills to build a career. Furthermore, retailers are anticipating the government's impending crackdown on zero-hour contracts, which Lord Wolfson, CEO of Next, warned could make it more difficult for the retail giant to provide additional hours to its employees. The BRC's letter also called on Healey to reduce taxes to stimulate investment in the UK economy, including cutting energy bills for retailers and exempting all shops from the high-value business rates multiplier. Other retailers, such as Primark, Morrisons, and Tesco, have cautioned Prime Minister Andy Burnham against raising the business rates multiplier, which affects large high street companies. The government has not committed to any major fiscal plans and plans to provide more details at the Budget.",
  "summary": "Retailers have called on Chancellor John Healey to unwind some of the national insurance reforms made by his predecessor in a bid to tackle the youth joblessness crisis. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, has written to the Chancellor, urging him to unwind “soaring employment costs”. [...]",
  "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."
}