by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Job creation could be hit by a "blizzard" of fresh red tape that could cost £25billion a year, a business group has warned.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which has members across the county, estimates that imminent employment regulations and taxes could damage future job creation.

The warning comes the day before the latest unemployment figures are revealed. December's figures showed they stood at 2.49 million nationally and 35,217 in Kent and Medway in November. That was 189 higher than the previous month.

The BCC says that the "blizzard of fresh red tape" and taxes directly related to employment are planned between April 2010 and April 2014, including eight major changes in 2011.

More than of the £25billion cost burden on business will come from employer National Insurance contributions which rise by one per cent from April next year.

The BCC says that costly regulations in the pipeline include the Equality Bill (an estimated one-off cost of £190m from this year); the Agency Workers Directive (an annual recurring cost of £1.5billion from 2011); and Pensions Reform (an annual recurring cost of £4.8billion from 2012).

The BCC is calling for a three-year halt to new employment laws to allow the new regulations to bed-in, promote job creation, and help drive economic recovery. It also wants the Government to campaign for a similar EU-wide pause.

BCC director-general David Frost said: "The cost of employing people must be reduced if future governments are serious about giving businesses the freedom to create jobs and drive our economic recovery.

"What must not happen after a general election is that a new government - from whatever party - comes to power and decides to add to this already sizable burden on business.

"From what employers tell me, they will get on with creating jobs and wealth, but they simply need government to get off their backs and let them do it. A good start would be to abolish the planned increase in National Insurance in 2011 - it’s a tax on jobs and will hinder recovery."