The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has opted to raise interest rates at its fourth successive meeting – the first time it has done this since becoming independent 25 years ago – and marked up the scale of Britain’s cost of living crisis by forecasting double-digit inflation and a £1,200 income squeeze, the Resolution … Continued

Expected increases in the frequency and severity of flood events – a consequence of climate change – will hit poorer families hardest due to their lack of insurance cover, according to new research published today (Saturday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s quarterly Housing Outlook notes that it is neighbourhoods with middling levels of deprivation … Continued

The misplaced view that our economic competitiveness is narrowly built on banking, and that it should be based on manufacturing, distracts from building on our advantages in a wider range of industries – including the arts, biomedical sciences, and intellectual property – and overcoming the inequality challenges they can pose, according to new research published … Continued

Today’s public finance data release gives the first estimate of borrowing in the second year affected by the pandemic. At £151.8 billion, borrowing in 2021-22 is estimated to be less than half that in 2020-21, and more than £80 billion lower than feared at the height of the pandemic, but it is still the third … Continued

Responding to today’s ONS Cost of Living release, Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Today’s ONS release shows that the cost of living crisis is already hitting UK families hard, with over four out of five adults already reporting an increase in their living costs between February and March 2022, and over … Continued

The latest ONS inflation data for March published today (Wednesday) saw CPIH inflation rise to 6.2 per cent, and CPI inflation rise to 7.0 per cent. This is not only the highest rate of inflation consumers have faced in 30 years, it is also the fastest inflation has picked up over the course of a … Continued

Real average weekly pay packets fell by 1.3 per cent in February, with a far deeper squeeze coming in the months ahead, despite the jobs market continuing to tighten and last year’s furlough flattering the headline pay data, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The UK … Continued

A tight labour market has driven underlying nominal wage growth back up, but not beyond, pre-pandemic levels according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Saturday) that highlights the role of ending furlough in boosting headline pay growth figures. Labour Market Outlook Q1 2022 examines how strong nominal wage growth statistics should be interpreted. Despite … Continued

The number of English households in ‘fuel stress’ will double from 2.5 to 5 million as a result of the price cap rising from today (Friday), with another 2.5 million households at risk in October if the price cap rises again to £2,500, according to new Resolution Foundation briefing. Stressed Out shows that low-income households … Continued

The Chancellor’s emergency Covid support helped to protect household incomes and reduced both absolute and relative poverty during the first 12 months of the pandemic, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in the response to the DWP’s latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics for the financial year 2020-21. The latest HBAI data, which covers … Continued

In his Spring Statement, the Chancellor promised to support families through the cost of living crisis today, and to cut their taxes in the future. But his failure to deliver on both of these means that absolute poverty is expected to rise by 1.3 million people next year, while only one-in-eight workers will see actually … Continued

In the face of the tightest income squeeze on record, the Chancellor has provided a significant but poorly targeted package of support, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the Spring Statement 2022. Rising inflation is forecast to make the year ahead very difficult for family finances. Real household income per person is … Continued

Commenting on the latest ONS Prices data, which showed that CPI inflation increased by 6.2 per cent in February, up from 5.5 per cent in January, while CPIH increased by 5.5 per cent, Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Another sharp rise in inflation last month offers a foretaste of the huge … Continued

Commenting on the latest ONS public sector finances for February published this morning, James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Chancellor will approach the UK’s latest crisis – the tightest income squeeze in generations, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – with the public finances in better shape than expected, increasing … Continued

Uprating benefits by a further five percentage points so that they keep pace with inflation over the coming year would be the most effective way to support families hardest hit by Britain’s cost of living crisis, delivering four times more support to the bottom half of the income distribution per pound spent than scrapping the … Continued

A tight labour market has seen unemployment fall close to a record low, but surging inflation means that Britain’s ongoing real pay squeeze is getting deeper, particularly for low earners, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The latest ONS data depict the benefits of a tight … Continued

Rising food and energy prices risk driving a second inflation spike this autumn that could reach over ten per cent for poorer households – significantly higher than the peak for richer households – requiring the Chancellor to focus support in his upcoming Spring Statement on low-and-middle-income families hardest hit by the cost of living crisis, … Continued

The conflict in Ukraine is forecast to further push up energy prices and wider inflation (to over 8 per cent this Spring), causing typical household incomes across Britain to fall by 4 per cent in the coming financial year (2022-23), the sharpest fall since the mid-1970s, according to the Resolution Foundation’s annual Living Standards Outlook … Continued

Soaring energy costs will lay bare Britain’s longstanding failure to better insulate its housing stock, with families living in EPC E-rated or worse homes set to face annual heating bills at least £320 higher than those living in EPC C-rated homes when the price cap jumps in April, with the total cost at £3.9 billion, … Continued

The UK’s strong, Omicron-defying labour market recovery brought in higher-than-expected tax revenues and healthier public finances ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement next month, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS data. Strong receipts – including higher than expected income taxes from self-assessment and PAYE – were £26.7 billion higher … Continued

Migration has altered the size and shape of the UK labour market in recent decades, but the move to a more restrictive regime since leaving the European Union won’t drive the ‘high wage‘ economy that the Prime Minister has claimed it will, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Thursday). Under new management – … Continued

Commenting on the latest ONS inflation data for January, which saw CPIH inflation rise to 4.9 per cent, its highest level in 30 years, and CPI inflation rise to 5.5 per cent, Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Inflation continued to tick up at the start of the year, putting ever more … Continued

The UK labour market continued its ‘great reset’ at the end of last year, as vacancies and job moves reached record highs, and pay pressure started to build. But the UK still is on course for the tightest real pay squeeze in generations this Spring, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the … Continued

The Omicron wave caused the economy shrink by 0.2 per cent in December, still confirming the strongest annual, peace-time GDP growth (of 7.5 per cent) the UK in almost a century, as the UK now faces up the challenges of high inflation and weak trade, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the … Continued

An ageing population and more expensive healthcare are set to increase public spending by £76 billion a year by the end of the decade, and a new approach will be needed to manage these extra costs as previous approaches of shrinking defence spending and raising National Insurance are likely to run out of road, according … Continued