A leading economic forecasting group has warned that Britain’s sluggish economic growth, combined with rising energy prices, will result in over 160,000 jobs being lost this year, raising further questions about the left-wing government’s net-zero green agenda. [some emphasis, links added]
Projections from the ITEM Club, which uses the same economic models as the British Treasury, indicate that more economic hardship is coming down the pike for the working people of the country, with high-energy industries such as construction and manufacturing set for the largest losses, The Times of London reports.
According to the forecasts, 163,000 jobs are likely in jeopardy this year, mostly as a result of slow economic growth and the rising cost of energy, which, although greatly influenced by global events such as the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, are also drastically higher than they would be otherwise if not for the myriad of green agenda taxes imposed by the government.
Indeed, despite the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the left-wing Labour Party government found it necessary to carry on with planned hikes of the Climate Change Levy on electricity and gas, which rose by 3.4 per cent last month and is set for further increases next year to a cumulative increase of 6.7 per cent.
While the expected 0.4 percent in unemployment, which would be in addition to the 4.9 percent already out of work, is expected to hit industrial manufacturing and construction the hardest, ITEM Club noted that this will also likely spill over into other sectors, such as retail, given the loss of disposable income for many workers.
ITEM Club advisor Tim Lyne added that lower-income regions will also be hit the hardest as consumers “typically have less rainy-day savings, which will reduce spending in the retail and hospitality sectors.”
Despite having campaigned on prioritizing a return to economic growth after years of stagnation under the high-tax agenda of the former Tory government, Prime Minister Starmer’s Labour administration quickly abandoned such plans and has alternatively spent the past two years in office hiking taxes even further.
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