The hike in employers’ national insurance contributions announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her first Budget last October has been in the spotlight again in recent days.

It has never really been far from the spotlight, of course, since it was announced.

This is probably no surprise, given the rise in the rate of employers’ national insurance contributions and lowering of the key earnings threshold above which they are paid are together projected to bring in an extra £25 billion of revenues annually.

Scottish companies’ focus on the rise in their national insurance contributions was highlighted in the latest business monitor from the University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute published on Thursday.

Fraser of Allander noted on the back of its survey findings that, while “businesses are still assessing how to respond to changes to employers’ national insurance contributions, they expect the impact to be significant”.

It observed that “close to three-quarters of businesses [are] indicating significant impact to their company from these changes in 2025”.

The survey also flags worries among Scottish businesses about the economic outlook.

Three-quarters of businesses expect Scottish economic growth to remain weak or very weak in 2025. This is an increase of nearly 18 percentage points on the proportion projecting such an outlook in the previous quarter’s survey.

Businesses continue to attach great importance to political and economic certainty, Fraser of........

© Herald Scotland