Unemployment figures released today make for grim reading. Britain’s jobless rate is at its highest level for four years – while wage growth has stagnated, official figures have shown. According to the Office for National Statistics, the rate of UK unemployment increased to 4.7% in the three months to May – the highest level since June 2021 – while annual wage growth stagnated at 5%.

The number of jobs being advertised is also down for the 36th month in a row – meaning there are more people competing for fewer jobs. We asked some UK business leaders for their reaction to the news – and they didn’t hold back in pointing the finger of blame at chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Ranald Mitchell, director at Charwin Mortgages, said: “Bleak doesn’t begin to cover it. We’re seeing falling payroll numbers, rising unemployment, collapsing vacancies, and a growing claimant count, and yet some still talk about a resilient economy.

“This is the eighth straight month of payroll shrinkage, on the back of many consecutive periods of falling vacancies. That’s not a blip, it’s a trend.

“What’s most alarming is that these numbers are landing just weeks into a new government supposedly focused on growth. Businesses are being suffocated by costs, red tape, and uncertainty, while the public are told to keep calm and carry on. At what point do we admit that UK plc is being managed into the ground?”

Harry Goodliffe, director at HTG Mortgages, called for Ms Reeves to go. “The Chancellor needs to be the next one to lose a job,” he said.

“Everywhere you look there’s a negative announcement, jobs down, vacancies down, unemployment up. It’s a slow bleed that’s now turning into a full-on crisis.

“Wage growth might grab a headline, but it means little when people are losing work and businesses are cutting back. The economy isn’t bouncing back, it’s breaking down. This government seems totally out of answers.”

Stephen Perkins, managing director at Yellow Brick Mortgages, said the increase in National Insurance rates required to be paid by employers was responsible for the trend. He said: “How can the economy be expected to grow with eight consecutive months of increased unemployment since the Budget? The Chancellor needs to be the next one to lose a job.”

Rohit Kohli, director at The Mortgage Stop, agreed the figures are “bleak”, but added they are “not surprising”. “Since coming to power, this government has drained business confidence and piled on costs,” he said.

“There’s been zero incentive to invest, and right now most firms are focused on protecting themselves from poor policymaking rather than planning for growth. Labour talks about being pro-growth, but it’s hard to see what their definition of growth actually is.

“At the moment, the whole Labour Government seems totally detached from business reality. If there’s nothing in the next Budget to genuinely support investment and productivity, I don’t see Rachel Reeves lasting beyond Christmas.”

Sam Kirk, managing director at J-Flex Rubber Products, said he was concerned the news showed Labour was not fit to run the UK economy. He said: “How many more warnings do we need before people start asking serious questions about Labours’ economic credibility?

“They talked big on ‘growth’ and ‘jobs’, but all we’ve seen is stagnation dressed up in soundbites. Frankly, the only thing more worrying than Reeves’ performance is the lack of anyone remotely competent waiting in the wings.”