Ian Girling, chief executive of Dorset Chamber, said: “This is a difficult time for businesses to be faced with the prospect of further costs.
“We are seeing inflation rise and costs increase for employees, materials and wages so the rise in National Insurance is an additional outlay that is unlikely to be welcomed by employers.
“The timing of the announcement comes as we reach a critical point in our emergence from the pandemic when some businesses will have built up a significant debt burden and others face the end of government support through the furlough scheme at the end of this month.”