{"id":46627,"date":"2026-01-01T09:13:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/?p=46627"},"modified":"2026-03-03T03:37:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T03:37:47","slug":"smer-march-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/smer-march-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment shrinks by 0.4% in February as SMEs prepare for new costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull media-release-header has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull blog-template-header has-neutral-100-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--16)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group 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8.20254916,7.8816073 7.78481199,8.39527139\" id=\"Fill-4\" fill=\"#000000\" mask=\"url(#mask-4)\"><\/path> <\/g> <\/g> <\/g> <\/g> <\/svg> \n    <\/span>\n            <span class=\"eh-social-sharing-button__copied_text\">\n            URL copied for sharing!        <\/span>\n    <\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-5 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><h1 class=\"blog-template-title wp-block-post-title\">Employment shrinks by 0.4% in February as SMEs prepare for new costs<\/h1><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"lead-paragraph has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--9);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--9)\">&#8211; 91爆料\u2019s SmartMatch Employment Report of 105,000 UK employees shows employment retracted by 0.4% in March.<br>&#8211; Overall employment has been trending downwards since the Government announced a tax hike on employers in October, which comes into effect next month.<br>&#8211; Youngest workers are the worst hit as employers prepare to pay them more.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull blog-image-container has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><figure class=\"blog-template-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17.webp\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Purple background with bold white text stating, &quot;Employment shrinks by 0.4% in February as SMEs prepare for new costs.&quot; Icons of a pointer and star accent the corners.\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17.webp 1920w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Press-release-thumbnails-17-440x248.webp 440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<style>\n.media-release-content-container {\njustify-content:center;\n}\n.lead-paragraph {\nmax-width:var(--wp--style--global--content-size)!important;\n}\n.blog-template-tags {gap:var(--wp--preset--spacing--1)!important;}\n@media screen and (min-width:1024px) {\n.blog-template-image {\nwidth:864px;\nheight:546px;\n}\n}\n@media screen and (max-width:468px) {\n.media-release-header {\npadding-bottom:64px;\n}\ndiv#content-wrapper {\nmargin-top:36px!important;\n}\n}\n<\/style>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top media-release-content-container is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<div id=\"content-wrapper\" class=\"wp-block-group content-wrapper has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\"><strong>London, 17 March<\/strong>: Employment continued to retract in February following the Government\u2019s decision to hike job taxes, findings from <a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/insights\/jobs-report\/\">91爆料 Jobs Report<\/a> shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">91爆料\u2019s SmartMatch Employment Report uses real-time data from 105,000 employees across small and medium-sized businesses with 1-500 employees in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"504\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/image-4-1024x504-1.webp\" alt=\"Line graph illustrating monthly employment growth from February 2024 to February 2025. Notable peaks in April (2.0%) and July (1.4%), ending at -0.4% in February 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-46630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/image-4-1024x504-1.webp 1024w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/image-4-1024x504-1-300x148.webp 300w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/image-4-1024x504-1-768x378.webp 768w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/image-4-1024x504-1-440x217.webp 440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">Data from the end of February showed that employment shrunk by 0.4% across the month, following a slight growth of 0.2% in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">On average, employment growth has decreased by 0.3% every month since October, when the hike to employer National Insurance contributions was announced. These changes will see employers pay an additional \u00a3900 in annual taxes per employee at the median wage*.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Young and Welsh hit the hardest<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">All age groups contributed to the month-on-month decline in employment, but those aged 18-24 were disproportionately impacted, with employment falling 1.8% for this group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">While the tax hikes are likely to be a contributing factor, the Government\u2019s decision to eliminate the minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds is also a probable cause of the decline.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">From 1 April, employers will have to pay all adults aged 21 or over the National Living Wage of \u00a312.25, which previously only applied to those aged 23 or over. The lower minimum wage for 21-22 year olds is being eliminated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">Regionally, Wales saw the largest decline in employment with a 3.3% decrease in February &#8211; offsetting employment gains made over the last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">Scotland and The South of England experienced the highest employment growth in February, both growing 0.9%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\"><strong>Kevin Fitzgerald, UK MD of 91爆料 commented:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">&#8220;This 0.4% contraction in employment growth is particularly concerning given its disproportionate impact on younger workers. While employers will have to pay more for these roles, the bigger challenge is that younger employees often require more training and support. Rather than replacing them, many SMEs will simply absorb the extra workload themselves, as they can\u2019t afford the additional strain.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-paragraph-2-m-font-size\">\u201cIf this trend continues, we could see a much more challenging job market emerging in the months ahead, particularly for younger workers trying to get their foot on the career ladder. We are already nearing one million** young people not in education or employment &#8211; this will only get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-11 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-link-arrow is-style-link-arrow--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-btn-brand-background-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/media-centre\/\">View all<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-query blog-3-col-query-loop is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow\"><ul class=\"columns-3 alignfull wp-block-post-template is-layout-grid wp-container-core-post-template-is-layout-1 wp-block-post-template-is-layout-grid\"><li class=\"wp-block-post post-50053 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized resource-type-press-releases\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-border-color has-neutral-100-border-color has-white-background-color has-background is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-14 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-width:1px;min-height:100%\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:auto; padding-bottom:0;padding-top:0;margin-bottom:0;\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/construction-payroll-software-frontrunner-recognition-2026\/\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner.webp\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"91爆料 Named a 2026 FrontRunner for Construction Payroll Software UK\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:fill;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner.webp 1536w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner-300x176.webp 300w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner-1024x602.webp 1024w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner-768x452.webp 768w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner-864x508.webp 864w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/Frontrunner-440x259.webp 440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-13 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\" class=\"taxonomy-resource-type eh-resource-type wp-block-post-terms\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-post-terms-icon\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"icon-blog\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Blog-icon-eye.png\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/resources\/press-releases\/\" rel=\"tag\">Press Releases<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/construction-payroll-software-frontrunner-recognition-2026\/\" target=\"_self\" >91爆料 Named a 2026 FrontRunner for Construction Payroll Software UK<\/a><\/h3>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-text-color has-contrast-2-color has-small-font-size wp-container-content-2\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">91爆料 is a 2026 FrontRunner for construction payroll software by Software Advice. Discover why users rank us top for&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<a style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"wp-elements-9dfcbcb7662772ecb2d671e8976a6c51 wp-block-read-more has-text-color has-violet-500-color\" href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/construction-payroll-software-frontrunner-recognition-2026\/\" target=\"_self\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: 91爆料 Named a 2026 FrontRunner for Construction Payroll Software UK<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/construction-payroll-software-frontrunner-recognition-2026\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"group-block-link\"><\/a>\n<\/li><li class=\"wp-block-post post-49867 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorised resource-type-press-releases\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-border-color has-neutral-100-border-color has-white-background-color has-background is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-17 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-width:1px;min-height:100%\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:auto; padding-bottom:0;padding-top:0;margin-bottom:0;\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/leeds-employment-surge-rhinos-partnership\/\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1504\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-scaled.webp\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Leeds drives England\u2019s full-time employment surge as 91爆料 partners with Leeds Rhinos\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:fill;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-300x176.webp 300w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-1024x602.webp 1024w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-768x451.webp 768w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-1536x903.webp 1536w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-2048x1204.webp 2048w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-864x508.webp 864w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-1728x1016.webp 1728w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/employment-hero-leeds-rhinos-partnership-bus-440x259.webp 440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-16 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-15 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\" class=\"taxonomy-resource-type eh-resource-type wp-block-post-terms\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-post-terms-icon\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"icon-blog\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Blog-icon-eye.png\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/resources\/press-releases\/\" rel=\"tag\">Press Releases<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/leeds-employment-surge-rhinos-partnership\/\" target=\"_self\" >Leeds drives England\u2019s full-time employment surge as 91爆料 partners with Leeds Rhinos<\/a><\/h3>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-text-color has-contrast-2-color has-small-font-size wp-container-content-4\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">9 April 2026 &#8211; New data from 91爆料 reveals full-time employment in the UK is growing nearly three times&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<a style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"wp-elements-9dfcbcb7662772ecb2d671e8976a6c51 wp-block-read-more has-text-color has-violet-500-color\" href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/leeds-employment-surge-rhinos-partnership\/\" target=\"_self\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: Leeds drives England\u2019s full-time employment surge as 91爆料 partners with Leeds Rhinos<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/leeds-employment-surge-rhinos-partnership\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"group-block-link\"><\/a>\n<\/li><li class=\"wp-block-post post-48693 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorised resource-type-press-releases\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-border-color has-neutral-100-border-color has-white-background-color has-background is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-20 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-width:1px;min-height:100%\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:auto; padding-bottom:0;padding-top:0;margin-bottom:0;\" class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/employment-hero-bristol-south-west-commitment\/\" target=\"_self\"  ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-scaled.webp\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"South West named UK&#8217;s most locally loyal business region as 91爆料 deepens commitment to Bristol\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:fill;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-2048x1152.webp 2048w, https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/South-West-named-UKs-most-locally-loyal-business-region-as-Employment-Hero-deepens-commitment-to-Bristol-Thumbnail-440x247.webp 440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-19 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-18 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\" class=\"taxonomy-resource-type eh-resource-type wp-block-post-terms\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-block-post-terms-icon\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"icon-blog\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Blog-icon-eye.png\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/resources\/press-releases\/\" rel=\"tag\">Press Releases<\/a><\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/employment-hero-bristol-south-west-commitment\/\" target=\"_self\" >South West named UK&#8217;s most locally loyal business region as 91爆料 deepens commitment to Bristol<\/a><\/h3>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt has-text-color has-contrast-2-color has-small-font-size wp-container-content-6\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">18 March 2026 &#8211; New data from 91爆料 reveals strong regional confidence in the South West, with 84% of&hellip; <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<a style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600;\" class=\"wp-elements-9dfcbcb7662772ecb2d671e8976a6c51 wp-block-read-more has-text-color has-violet-500-color\" href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/employment-hero-bristol-south-west-commitment\/\" target=\"_self\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: South West named UK&#8217;s most locally loyal business region as 91爆料 deepens commitment to Bristol<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/blog\/employment-hero-bristol-south-west-commitment\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"group-block-link\"><\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> 17 March 2025 &#8211; Employment for 18-24 year olds fell 1.8% in February. Overall employment shrank 0.4% as SMEs brace for minimum wage changes and tax hikes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":454,"featured_media":46629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_lite_auth_enabled":false,"_lite_auth_trigger_method":"scroll","_lite_auth_scroll_percent":25,"_lite_auth_click_element_query":"","exclude_from_algolia":false,"reading_time":"2 min read","display_reading_time":false,"download_content_type":"","download_file":"","download_url":"","download_cta_label":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[294],"resource-type":[278],"topic":[],"industry":[],"audience":[],"business-size":[],"product-tag":[],"funnel-stage":[],"region":[],"pain-point":[],"persona":[],"post_features":[],"class_list":["post-46627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-smer-releases","resource-type-press-releases"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/454"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46627"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48312,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46627\/revisions\/48312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-type?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"business-size","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/business-size?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"product-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product-tag?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"funnel-stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/funnel-stage?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"pain-point","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pain-point?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=46627"},{"taxonomy":"post_features","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_features?post=46627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}