The Chancellor’s £1 billion support package announced today (Tuesday) rightly provides targeted support to firms affected by the economic hit from Omicron, but does nothing to help the many thousands of workers who will also be affected, and suffer a huge income hit over Christmas and into next year as a result, the Resolution Foundation … Continued

Jack Leslie, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “While the timing of the Bank’s decision to raise interest rates is odd given the economic damage currently being caused by Omicron, the fact is that it is unlikely to make much difference to either inflation or household budgets. The real action is with the Treasury … Continued

A sharp rise in inflation last month – with CPIH inflation rising from 3.8 To 4.6 per cent, and CPI inflation rising from 4.2 to 5.1 per cent – tightened the squeeze on living standards across Britain, amid widespread uncertainty as to how large and long-lasting it will be, the Resolution Foundation said today in … Continued

The UK has entered the tough new Omicron phase of the Covid crisis with a healthy rather than overheating labour market, but with shrinking real pay packets, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The labour market experienced a brief, and healthy, period of normality during October … Continued

Inflation-busting house price growth over the past 20 years has delivered an unearned, unequal and untaxed £3 trillion capital gains windfall in Britain, with those aged 60 and over the biggest winners from this one-off ‘property lottery’, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Thursday). The report Home county – in partnership with abrdn … Continued

The pandemic has not led to mass unemployment as many feared, but has instead driven wider shifts that have increased employment among younger women, but pushed many men and older workers out of the labour market altogether, according to new research published today (Tuesday). Begin again? – the eighth report for The Economy 2030 Inquiry, … Continued

The rate of inflation has increased at its fastest rate over the past year since at least 1989, a shift that means real wages are already falling and are likely to continue to do so for the next six months, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the ONS inflation data. CPI inflation … Continued

The end of the furlough scheme in October has not sparked fresh a labour market shock as many had feared, with payrolled employment continuing to rise, vacancy levels hitting a fresh high, and seven-in-eight recently furloughed workers returning to work, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the latest ONS data today (Tuesday). The Foundation … Continued

A focus on the UK’s least productive firms risks distracting policy makers from the economy-wide under-performance on investment and management that is holding British businesses back as we enter a decade of major economic change, according to a new report for The Economy 2030 Inquiry published today (Monday). Business Time – co-written by the Resolution … Continued

The end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) is likely to have led to only a small rise in the number of people not working – with around 136,000 workers moving from furlough to either unemployment or inactivity – but furloughed staff are six times more likely to have lost their jobs than other … Continued

Responding to the latest ONS GDP figures today (Thursday), which show that the economy grew by 0.6 per cent in September, and by 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2021, leaving the UK with the largest shortfall in GDP relative to its pre-pandemic peak among G7 countries, James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution … Continued

Publicly naming businesses using exploitative practices or underpaying workers encourages other firms to comply with labour market rules – but tougher financial penalties and better detection of those breaking the law are still essential, according to new research published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report No shame, no gain? – part of the … Continued

The Chancellor set the stage for a new high tax economy – rather than the high wage economy pledged by the Prime Minister, or the low tax one favoured by many Conservative MPs – the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in its overnight analysis of the Budget and Spending Review 2021. The Boris Budget notes … Continued

A major upgrade to growth and the public finances gave the Chancellor a £141 billion lower cumulative borrowing windfall (from 2022-23 to 2025-26), 46 per cent of which he used to raise public service spending and soften the cost of living crunch for low-income working families with a welcome £3 billion boost to Universal Credit … Continued

In response to today’s announcement that the National Living Wage is expected rise to £9.50 in April 2022, Nye Cominetti, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “A rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 would be very welcome – especially given that low earners have been the hardest hit by the crisis, both … Continued

Young adults have experienced a stronger labour market recovery in the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic compared with older workers, but the wealth gaps between age cohorts have increased, according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Intergenerational Audit 2021 – funded by the Nuffield Foundation and part of the … Continued

Commenting on the latest inflation figures for September, which saw CPI fall slightly to 3.1 per cent (down from 3.2 per cent in August but up from 0.4 per cent in February) and CPIH fell to 2.9 per cent (from 3.0 per cent in August), but with further increases due over the coming months, Jack … Continued

  The UK is set for its biggest ever current-year economic growth upgrade next week as a result of a smaller-than-forecast pandemic hit, and a faster-than-expected pandemic recovery, but rising inflation will squeeze both the Chancellor’s borrowing windfall and family budgets this autumn, according to new research published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation. The … Continued

Responding to the Government’s Heating and Building Strategy, Jonny Marshall, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Government has rightly made good on its Manifesto commitment of funding to reduce carbon emissions from people’s homes, and to prioritise low-income families and those in social housing for support in making homes more energy efficient. “The … Continued

The UK’s post-Brexit trade policy, which has been too focused on rushing through agreements at the expense of an underpinning economic strategy, risks leaving the country without a plan for the major economic change that Brexit is already starting to bring about, according to a new report for the Economy 2030 Inquiry published today (Thursday). … Continued

The record hiring surge in the UK jobs market is providing welcome relief amid a turbulent cost of living crunch this autumn. But big questions hang over the sustainability of pay growth through the winter, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the latest labour market figures. The latest data showed another record increase in … Continued

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech at the Conservative Party conference today, in which he began to set out his vision for a new economic strategy to tackle the issues of low wages, poor skills provision and weak productivity that dog the UK economy, Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Prime … Continued

Commenting on Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s speech to the Conservative Party conference 2021, Lord Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Chancellor’s speech was short and didn’t have much new policy, but nevertheless we learnt a lot about his approach to UK’s post-Covid, post-Brexit economy. “‘Rishinomics’ – rooted in the Treasury view but with a new Californian … Continued