One in six adults in Buckinghamshire are out of work as the Chancellor commits to "protect working people", new figures have shown.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 16 per cent of 16 to 64-year-olds in the county were considered economically inactive in 2023. 

The figures matched the 2022 data but was down from the 20 per cent recorded ten years ago. 

An economically inactive person is someone not currently in employment and not actively seeking work.

Nationally, 21 per cent of working-age adults were economically inactive last year.

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It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an increase to the minimum wage and promised national insurance, VAT and income tax would not increase for working people. 

The UK's first female Chancellor said she would raise taxes and increase borrowing, as she vowed to "invest, invest, invest" to "rebuild Britain".

But Brian Hyrnes, head of personal finance at Moneybox said employers would be "shouldering more of the national insurance burden" which could lead to the cost being passed on to employees.

 He said: "With a higher cost per head, we could also see some employers choosing to reduce other benefits such as wage increases or even pension contribution matching."

The Chancellor also confirmed an above-inflation increase to the minimum wage of 6.7 per cent to £12.21 an hour next year in what she described as a "significant step" towards introducing a "genuine living wage for working people".

The increase, recommended by the Low Pay Commission, will mean an extra £1,400 a year for a full-time worker earning the main minimum wage rate from April 2025.

But it still falls short of the £12.60 per hour UK living wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation.

Leader of the opposition, Rishi Sunak accused Rachel Reeves of delivering a Budget containing "broken promise after broken promise", saying "working people will pay the price."

The outgoing Conservative leader claimed the Chancellor has decided to "let borrowing rip" and tried to "cover up that splurge by fiddling the fiscal rules".

Mr Sunak added, "never in the history of our country will taxes be higher than they are under this Labour Government".