Any opportunities for job creation in small businesses are being smothered by ever-growing levels of red tape and bureaucracy, according to recruitment consultancy Hays.
Small and medium enterprises which would otherwise be pushing for growth are being hindered by rules and regulations, which is preventing them contributing to the economy in the way the government wants them to, UK director Charles Logan said.
He added: “In order for our economy to recover, the government has stressed the need for private sector job creation to placate public sector job losses. Most of this is expected to come from small and medium-sized enterprises. But with swathes of red tape and stifling levels of bureaucracy still in place, many SMEs are struggling to create these jobs.”
The government suggested that the effects of swingeing cuts in the public sector in the coming years would be offset by job creation in the private sector.
Labour market figures from the Office for National Statistic revealed this week showed that job creation was increasing.
Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist for economic research group Capital Economics, told the Retail Gazette that he thought this showed that job creation was cancelling out the ill-effects of redundancies.
