Ofgem’s announcement today (Friday) that the energy price cap is set to increase from £1,971 to £3,549 this October, and is likely to rise further in January, means that monthly energy bills could be three times higher this winter than last year, at around £500 a month, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis. The analysis, … Continued

The new Prime Minister will need to introduce radical new policy support – such as energy bill freezes and solidarity taxes, or unprecedented social tariffs costing tens of billions of pounds – to prevent the deepening energy bills crisis becoming a serious threat to families’ physical and financial health this winter, according to a new … Continued

CPI inflation hit double digits (10.1 per cent) in July, with Resolution Foundation analysis of the latest data today (Wednesday) showing that it was even higher for the poorest tenth of households – at 10.9 per cent. Another significant increase in inflation from 9.4 per cent in June to 10.1 per cent in July was … Continued

Real average weekly earnings fell by 3 per cent in the three months to June, the biggest fall since 1977, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The latest data is dominated by near double-digit inflation, which according to the Foundation’s analysis of longer-term ONS and Bank … Continued

This winter, low-income households will have to reduce their spending by three times as much as high-income households in order to afford their energy bills, according to a new Resolution Foundation briefing released today (Sunday) – which focuses on how bills in Jan-March 2023 are now set to be an annualised £4,266, rather than the … Continued

Ahead of the Bank of England’s next Monetary Policy Report published tomorrow, the Resolution Foundation published new analysis – In the dread of winter – looking at how the outlook for inflation has changed since the Bank of England’s last Monetary Policy Report (MPR) in May. The briefing finds that: Contrary to many reports, global … Continued

Rising food and fuel prices sent CPI inflation to a fresh 40-year high of 9.4 per cent in June, and to 10.6 per cent for the poorest households, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the latest ONS inflation data today (Wednesday). The latest inflation rise was driven by the sharpest single month rise in … Continued

Soaring levels of wealth across the UK, coupled with high levels of wealth inequality, mean that the wealth gap between the top and middle tenth of households in the UK has grown to a record £1.2 million per adult, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis published today (Wednesday). Arrears Fears, the Foundation’s third annual wealth … Continued

The inflation-led cost-of-living crisis is causing a huge fall in the value of real wages, but has not yet hit the jobs market as older workers in particular are returning to work in the face of rising cost pressures, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The … Continued

1.3 million families across Britain had no savings prior to the pandemic – including one-in-twelve of the poorest tenth of households – with a third admitting they would have to rely on friends and families for help in the case of an unexpected expense, according to new Resolution Foundation research to be published later this … Continued

Britain’s toxic combination of low growth and high inequality has left it trailing behind the comparable economies of Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, with disastrous consequences for low- and middle-income households. But a new economic strategy aiming to address this failure needs to be serious about the scale of change required, and go … Continued

Low levels of worker power – after four decades of falling trade union membership – are likely to be holding wage levels down by as much as £100 a week for the average worker, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today. Power plays – the 29th report for The Economy 2030 Inquiry, a collaboration … Continued

Real typical household disposable income growth for working age families has slumped to just 0.7 per cent a year in the 15 years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving households, particularly those in rented accommodation and with young children, brutally exposed to the current cost-of-living crisis, according to new research published today (Monday) by … Continued

Britain is beset by persistent economic gaps between different parts of the country, and addressing them requires investment in its major cities on a scale not currently being contemplated, according to new joint Resolution Foundation / LSE research for the Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Incomes Outcomes – published today (Monday) – … Continued

Inflation increased slightly in May, but soaring petrol prices will drive a bigger rise in June, while low-income households continue to face the greatest cost-of-living pressures, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS inflation data. CPI inflation increased from 9 to 9.1 per cent, while CPIH rose from 7.8 to … Continued

Brexit has not had the expected effect of narrowly reducing exports to the EU, but has instead more broadly reduced how open and competitive Britain’s economy is, which will reduce productivity and wages in the decade ahead, according to new joint Resolution Foundation and LSE research published today (Wednesday). The Big Brexit – the 26th … Continued

The UK’s decarbonisation drive will involve major change across the economy, particularly for the 1.3 million workers in carbon-intensive ‘brown’ jobs who will need to adapt to cleaner technologies and processes, but it will not destroy jobs in the way that episodes of structural change have done in the past, according to new Resolution Foundation … Continued

The number of people ending their working lives by reaching the State Pension Age (SPA) is set to reach a record high over the coming decade, but it will be more than matched by record numbers of people starting their working lives by turning 22, leading to the UK workforce get younger even while the … Continued

High inflation is causing real pay packets to shrink at their fastest rate in a decade, while the slowdown in growth may be causing the tight labour market to cool as unemployment ticks up, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. With CPI inflation hitting a 40-year … Continued

The share of young people who are workless has fallen by over a quarter since the mid-1990s, when it was a major social and economic problem, but this decline is predominantly down to falling inactivity among young women, with inactivity among young men now rising, according to new research published today (Monday) by the Resolution … Continued

The Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath has slightly reduced employment and house price gaps across Britain, but hasn’t reduced wider economic divides, while ethnically diverse areas of outer London are at risk of falling behind, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Saturday). Right where you left me – the 23rd report for The … Continued

Commenting on the Government’s plans to provide further support to prospective homeowners on low-incomes by extending their entitlement to benefits, Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Prime Minister has identified an anomaly within our benefits system, where renters are treated significantly more generously than homeowners on identical incomes. 5.4 million renters … Continued

A meaningful ‘levelling up’ agenda cannot be limited to new tech hubs and hanging baskets on high streets, and should focus instead on improving town centres, connectivity and the quality of low-skilled jobs, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). All over the place – the 22nd report for The Economy 2030 Inquiry, … Continued

British businesses have emerged from the pandemic with higher cash reserves and, rather than being plagued with zombie firms, the corporate sector has been rejuvenated with high rates of firm creation. The UK must now use this moment to turn around its poor record on productivity and investment, according to new research from the Resolution … Continued

The Chancellor’s new £15 billion package of energy bill support almost doubles that announced earlier in the year and rightly fills the gap they left by prioritising those hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). Today’s package, which included a doubling of the universal Energy Bill Support Scheme to £400, … Continued