Member Article

Extending NIC holiday will create jobs

We’ve all seen the unemployment figures for the North East and we’re all trying to reduce it.

For small and micro businesses to take on more staff and emply more people we’re calling for the Government to extend the National Insurance Contribution (NIC) holiday.

Our research shows that over a two year period if the scheme were to be opened to all micro businesses outside London, the East and the South East 27,000 jobs would be created and £700m added to GDP.

The current scheme that the Government introduced was supposed to help 200,000 firms. Instead it has helped 15,000 firms outside London, the East and South East.

Our members have cited payroll taxes as the biggest barrier to taking on new staff and 53% said that a NIC holiday would encourage them to take on more staff.

Start-ups play a massive role in growing the economy but it is clear that many are not taking on staff in the numbers that we hope for. By extending the NIC holiday to all micro businesses will help tackle some of this.

By extending the scheme across the UK and until 2015 would create an extra 45,000 jobs and add £1.3bn in GDP.

If this Government is serious about creating jobs and employment across the region it needs to extend the NIC holiday to all micro businesses in the North East.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Hanson .