A million people have lost their jobs in one year after their employers collapsed, alarming new analysis shows.
Job losses from business “deaths” are now higher than during the Covid pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
And since last year, they have outstripped the number of new jobs created through firms being “born”.
An estimated 1.01million jobs were lost through firms collapsing in the year to September - while 944,000 were created through new firms.
Labour warned the figure - the highest since 2017 when records began in their current form - was 11% higher than the previous year.
Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: "It's truly unacceptable that businesses are dying at the hands of Conservative failure."
He added: "The fact that we are seeing record business closures and one million people being pushed out of a job due to the Tory economic crash and their failure to provide much needed support is suffocating our nation's growth and potential."
Labour analysed ONS figures that show nearly 450,000 firms, with a combined turnover of £88billion, shut down in the 12 months to September.
The North East was the worst-hit region, with a 21% rise in firms collapsing compared to the year before.
Business deaths rose 19% in the West Midlands, 14% in the North West, 12% in Yorkshire and the Humber and 11% in the East Midlands.
By comparison they rose less than 10% in more affluent London, the South East, South West and East of England. In Wales and Scotland business deaths rose just 6% compared to the year before.
More than 50,000 of the collapsing firms were in construction and just over 37,000 were in retail.
Labour suggested small businesses were suffering a heavy toll from closures, partly due to late payments from suppliers, as energy bills and corise.
Mr Reynolds said: “We will work in partnership in businesses to stop disastrous late payments, and will replace business rates with a fairer system.”
Tory ministers argue unemployment is at a near-50-year low. It is now just 3.6%.
