In the hospitality sector, where labour costs are a bigger proportion of the overall base, employers have fewer options

If one looked solely at this week’s trading reports from the world of big retail – the likes of Marks & Spencer, Next and Tesco – you might wonder why Rachel Reeves’ increase in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) has caused such a fuss. It is obvious from the trio’s outlook statements that they will cope with the extra costs.

At Tesco, which faces a £250m extra from NICs and other budget changes, the chief executive, Ken Murphy, did not rule out price rises but said the group would do its “very best” to mitigate them; and, given Tesco’s expertise in grinding out efficiency gains, you would bet on it to succeed. In similar style, Stuart Machin at M&S noted the cost headwinds but said “there is much within our control”.