These NIC changes create a significant burden for growing businesses at exactly the wrong time. Employers have been preparing for these increased costs by slowing hiring.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reports that small business confidence has improved slightly to -40.7 points, up from -64.5 in late 2024, indicating ongoing financial struggles.
These are some of the first sets of figures to indicate a small uptick in hiring pace as economic policies under the Trump administration begin to show possible signs of influencing business sentiment across certain industries.
