Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: May 2023 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 31 May 2023 by Emma Selinger Do you have an idea for how tech could improve low-paid or precarious work in the UK? Are you looking to take the next step and seek investment for your idea? Resolution Ventures and Bethnal Green Ventures are hosting a WorkerTech Pre-Investment Workshop on 22nd June to provide expert advice to founders who are seeking first-time … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Migration The nature of the post-Brexit migration change is different to what many expected 25 May 2023 by Charlie McCurdy The latest migration statistics, covering the year ending December 2022, confirm that the post-Brexit era has brought significant changes in migration patterns. The predictable headline was that overall net migration reached a record high, but the labour market nature of this change differs from what many expected – with the migrant workforce growing slower than … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Growing, but for how long? 16 May 2023 by Nye Cominetti This morning’s labour market data from the ONS had encouraging news in the shape of rising employment, coming from a reversal among the under 50s of the post-pandemic fall in participation. But inactivity among the over 50s and among those with long-term illnesses remains stubbornly high, there continue to be signs that firms’ demand for … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: April 2023 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 4 May 2023 by Emma Selinger How can we make sure gig work is good work? We helped a group of founders, workers, investors and researchers answer this question last week at our workshop with Fairwork. You can learn more about it in this newsletter, and read Fairwork’s new report on digital labour platforms in the UK. As always, if you have … Continued READ MORE
Fewer students, more ill health: the wrong kind of labour-market participation 18 April 2023 by Greg Thwaites Today’s labour market data depicts an expanding workforce, reversing some of the shrinkage we saw during the pandemic. But, like Homer Simpson, it’s expanding and receding in all the wrong places – due to fewer students rather than less long-term sickness. In better news, employment kept rising and unemployment remains low. Public sector pay growth … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: March 2023 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 30 March 2023 by Emma Selinger Around 5 million people in the UK do some form of work via digital platforms, so we think it’s really important that platforms providing this type of work are designed to offer fair and decent work to users. Register to join us on Thursday 20th April at our free workshop with Fairwork (experts in equitable labour platforms) … Continued READ MORE
Ventures Resolution Ventures invests in Equal Care Co-operative 28 March 2023 by Emma Selinger We’re delighted to announce that Resolution Ventures has made an investment in Equal Care Co-op as part of the Workertech Partnership. The aim of the Workertech Partnership is to use impact investment to back a new wave of innovators who will harness technology to improve the pay, prospects, power, and progression of low-paid workers. One … Continued READ MORE
What official new income statistics can tell us about living standards in 2021 and beyond 24 March 2023 by Adam Corlett The financial year from April 2021 to March 2022 feels a long time ago. The furlough scheme and £20 a week benefit boost were in place for the first half of that year, Rishi Sunak was Chancellor, inflation averaged a ‘mere’ 4 per cent, and, even after some notable increases, the typical annualised energy bill … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Labour market offers glimmers of hope for the Chancellor and the Bank 14 March 2023 by Greg Thwaites Today’s labour market statistics show employment has been holding up well in the face of the higher interest rates and the cost of living crisis. Meanwhile, there were encouraging early signs that labour market activity is improving and pay growth generating less inflation – a bit of good news for the Chancellor ahead of Wednesday’s … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Productivity & industrial strategy· Economy and public finances What Britain should learn from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act plan Like or loath the ‘protectionist’ Inflation Reduction Act’s green subsidies, America offers an example of strategic thinking 13 March 2023 by Torsten Bell The UK has lost the habit of thinking strategically. Grappling with the constraints imposed by the global and domestic economies — or reality as it is sometimes known — is deeply out of fashion these days. Debates on how the UK might respond to Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and its near $400bn of green … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: February 2023 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 28 February 2023 by Emma Selinger You’ve probably seen a headline or two mention economic inactivity over the past week, with various takes on who is affected and how to solve the problem. Someone who is economically inactive is a person of working age who is not in work, not looking for work, and is not in education. In this newsletter I’m sharing Resolution … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Childcare· Welfare Mums hold the key to getting Britain working again Boosting workforce participation in the 2020s 25 February 2023 by Louise Murphy Britain has built up a lot of economic problems over the past 15 years – weak investment and productivity growth, contributing to an unprecedented pay squeeze and stagnating living standards. But there has been one metric at which we have excelled – getting more people into work. Sadly this success story has been undone somewhat since the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Concerning rise in NEETs driven by uptick in youth unemployment New ONS figures show a sharp rise in the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training 23 February 2023 by Louise Murphy This morning, the ONS published new figures outlining the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Overall, 788,000 16-24-year-olds (11.5 per cent) found themselves NEET in the last three months of 2022. And there has been a sharp rise in the number of young people who are NEET in … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Good news in the latest labour market data for the Bank and the Chancellor, but bad news for the general public 14 February 2023 by Hannah Slaughter and Nye Cominetti This morning’s labour market stats bring good news and bad news. An uptick in workforce participation is good news for everyone, while signs of weakening pay pressure might ease the Bank of England’s inflation concerns. But a wider cooling of demand (seen in falling vacancies, and rising unemployment and redundancies) don’t bode well for workers. … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 The UK economy has recovered from doom and recession before – and it can do so again The prize for achieving stronger growth is huge 7 February 2023 by Krishan Shah The national economic debate is at its least illuminating when it descends into a form of sports reporting – with arguments about who’s up, who’s down, and who’s winning and losing. And thanks to a slew of economic forecasts – from the IMF and central banks in the US, Eurozone and the UK – this … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: January 2023 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 31 January 2023 by Emma Selinger Are you a founder of a social business, or have an idea for one you’d like to start? We’re partnering with Shift Design to interview founders or aspiring founders to help us improve the way we support entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas and access early-stage investment. Participants will receive a thank you of £50 for 90 minutes … Continued READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets· Intergenerational Centre Britain’s inheritance boom could further decouple people’s retirement age from their state pension age It’s inheritance and where you live which are the barriers to retirement 31 January 2023 by Molly Broome The UK’s state pension age is going up – and perhaps faster than expected. The age at which you can draw the state pension is due to rise from 66 to 67 by 2028. And the Government is now reportedly considering bringing forward the rise to 68 from 2046 to the 2030s, as part of … Continued READ MORE
Ventures· Social care Social Care Roundtable 27 January 2023 by Emma Selinger In 2021-22, more than one-in-ten frontline care jobs in England were vacant, up from fewer than one-in-twenty in 2012-13, with 68 per cent of current care workers saying they work under a high degree of tension. The Resolution Foundation has been exploring different aspects of the problems in the care sector, to identify what can … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty Growing inequality across Britain has left millions of families exposed to the cost-of-living crisis 25 January 2023 by Lalitha Try Today, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published their data on household incomes and inequality for 2021-22; this is the first source of official data on household incomes for that year. 2021-22 was an eventful year. It began with the UK emerging out of major restrictions on everyday life, but by October 2021, all Covid-19 … Continued READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets Expand the Help to Save scheme to help the poorest 24 January 2023 by Jack Leslie It would be hard to miss the fact that the UK economy is currently in bad shape. A 40-year high in inflation, falling incomes and ever more industrial action are just some of the features of today’s Britain. But these problems have been made worse by a too often overlooked issue: many families do not … Continued READ MORE
Is the UK labour market at a crossroads? This latest ONS labour market statistics, covering November 2022, show a mixed picture 17 January 2023 by Hannah Slaughter This morning’s labour market statistics, covering November 2022, show a mixed picture. On the one hand, high levels of vacancies and low unemployment mean that the labour market remains tight. But there are early signs that this may not last much longer – vacancies have fallen markedly over the past few months, while redundancies are … Continued READ MORE
Tax Five bad ways to hand out £4 billion a year 12 January 2023 by Adam Corlett Taxes are going up, in large part due to big policy choices like the upcoming rise in the Corporation Tax rate and the prolonged freezing of various tax thresholds. Yet it’s always possible that further tax rises will be needed sooner or later, perhaps to support struggling public services, or to raise funds to allow … Continued READ MORE
Why the distribution of income matters for growth Social mobility up the ladder of opportunity matters. But there is also an important link between income distribution and economic growth 3 January 2023 by David Willetts There is a Conservative argument that what matters is absolute levels of income and wealth. Worries about how it is distributed are for Socialists. Conservatives should just get on with growing the total size of the cake. This view is one strand of conservatism. But there are also good Conservative reasons why this won’t do … Continued READ MORE
Welfare System collision The interaction of Universal Credit and Child Benefit withdrawal is creating a mess 3 January 2023 by Gavin Kelly If there is anyone out there still harbouring the quaint idea that it’s the super-rich who face the highest marginal tax rates in the land, they should think again. There are various contenders for that dubious prize but we can now announce a clear winner: the small but fast-growing group of families receiving Universal Credit … Continued READ MORE
Ventures WorkerTech newsletter: December 2022 The latest update from Resolution Ventures 21 December 2022 by Emma Selinger As we come to the end of the year we’ve been reflecting on our achievements in 2022, so in this edition you’ll find our top 10 WorkerTech highlights of the year. Do you have a WorkerTech idea that you’re developing for 2023? Book in a time to chat in January to see how we can … Continued READ MORE
