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Labour has admitted it doesn't know how many small businesses have axed jobs since Rachel Reeves hiked employers' national insurance - and hasn't even tried to find out. The staggering admission by Business Minister Baroness Lloyd follows warnings that small firms including shops, restaurants have been devastated by a series of tax rises.

Ms Reeves hiked employers' NI from 13.8% to 15% in her first Budget and slashed the threshold where businesses start paying from £9,100 to £5,000. In total, employers across the UK have shed more than 1,000 jobs a day since Labour won power in July 2024. But when asked how many small and medium-sized businesses had cut jobs since the tax hike, Baroness Lloyd admitted the Government had not even assessed the damage. Lord Mott, a Conservative peer, slammed the admission as "shocking", saying: "The Government seems to care so little about this that they don't even monitor the job losses they are causing."

Official figures show more than 300,000 people have lost their jobs since Labour came into office, with nearly one million young people in no employment, education or training. Job vacancies have plummeted to their lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic.

Business groups including the CBI and Federation of Small Businesses have warned of further job losses to come, with some firms closing UK operations altogether. The British Chambers of Commerce warned the tax hike would cost businesses £25billion over five years.

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Unite union leader Sharon Graham attacked the Government's approach as "performative", demanding "immediate change that they can touch and feel, not numbers on a spreadsheet". In her response to Lord Mott, Baroness Lloyd said her department "has not conducted an assessment of the number of SMEs that have reduced their workforce" and was unable to answer the peer's question.

The admission sparked fury among business owners already struggling with rising costs and mounting pressure from the Chancellor's tax raid. Lord Mott said: "From shops and restaurants to construction and services, SMEs are the backbone of the British economy and provide the majority of private sector employment."

He added: "But they've been under pressure from higher taxes and the prospect of more burdensome regulation to come, meaning job losses and job vacancies hitting their lowest level since the pandemic."

A government spokesman did not address claims they did not know how many SME's had been forced to lay people off. They said: "381,000 more people are in work since the start of 2025, showing that our plan to build a stronger and more secure economy is working. We know smaller businesses are facing a difficult time, and that's why we have introduced a Small Business Plan and launched a £4.3bn business rates support package."