Consumer Snippets – 28 November 2025

Minimum wages vs traditional graduate roles

The Chancellor’s decision at the Autumn Budget to raise the National Living Wage by 4.1% to £12.71 was well trailed and expected. However,
the 8.5% increase in National Minimum Wage to £10.85 was greater than expected. UKHospitality estimates that the NLW increase will cost the industry an additional £1.4bn in wages from April. This is on top of the hikes in NI and NLW last year that cost the industry £3.4bn pa (Source: UKHospitality). This will also be painful for retailers. While the higher wage floor increases costs for operators, it also narrows the gap between entry-level pay in hospitality and other sectors. As professional services firms pull back on graduate hiring, could hospitality become a more attractive career path for those struggling to secure traditional graduate roles?