Analysis and action on living standards
A New Economic Strategy for Britain
The UK has experienced its highest inflation for more than 40 years, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But next week will bring the welcome news that inflation has returned close to the 2 per cent target for the first time since July 2021. In this report, we take a step back and look at how this huge shock to prices has reshaped our economy.
The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank focused on improving living standards for those on low to middle incomes. We work across a wide range of economic and social policy, combining our core purpose with a commitment to analytical rigour.
Real wages rose by a healthy 2 per cent in the year to February, despite output per worker falling over this period. This disconnect can’t go on for ever: productivity is the main determinant of real wages over the long run. But it can go on for a while. In this outlook we examine how Britain is able to afford ‘unproductive wage growth’, and how long it might last.
Almost four million workers in UK are working on some form of flexible contract that can be viewed as precarious. But while there is a growing body of research on the impact of these contracts on workers, there is far less understanding about what drives employers to hire staff on such terms. In our latest report, we address this with a survey of more than 750 employers to explore why they use flexible contracts, and what might reduce their reliance on such contracts in the future.
The Resolution Foundation calculates the real Living Wage – a voluntary hourly pay rate that is based on what families need to get by. The current national rate is:
Resolution Ventures exists to back innovative start-ups seeking to change the world of work for the better and early-stage ventures seeking to improve the prospects of low-to-middle income Britain.
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