Low-paid workers have been worst affected by the pandemic, are now returning to work fastest in the recovery, but still face the dual risks of rising unemployment and high job insecurity later this year and beyond, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). The Foundation’s 11th annual Low Pay Britain report examines the … Continued

The number of furloughed workers fell by 880,000 in April – and by 1.6 million since January – as the economy began to reopen, while take-up of the Job Retention Scheme reached two billion working days, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the latest HMRC and ONS furlough statistics published today (Thursday). The latest … Continued

After four-decades of decline, 2020 was the fourth year in a row in which trade union membership among employees in the UK increased – with membership up 120,000 on the year before – according to Resolution Foundation analysis of new statistics published today (Thursday) by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Foundation … Continued

The second highest monthly increase in payrolled employment on record, coupled with vacancies returning close to pre-crisis levels, show that the labour market is entering a new phase as it reopens and recovers – but a return to its pre-pandemic health is still a long way off, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to … Continued

The UK is facing a ‘decisive decade’ of change as five seismic economic shifts – the Covid aftermath, Brexit, the Net Zero transition, an older population and rapid technological change – come together. Our economic strategy must be rebuilt in light of these shifts, and the opportunities and challenges they create, or we risk leaving … Continued

Young people have been at the centre of two interlinked crises during the pandemic, experiencing the largest employment hit and sharpest increase in mental health conditions of any age group, according to a new report published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report Double Trouble – supported by the Health Foundation – examines the … Continued

Press release from the Resolution Foundation Pandemic leading to a ‘race for space’ – and soaring house prices in least populated areas House prices in the least-densely populated areas of the UK have risen almost twice as much as those in the most-densely populated areas over the past year, which reflects both the pandemic prompting … Continued

Radical changes to the UK’s social security safety net during the pandemic should prompt a wider public debate about its successes and failures, and how Britain’s post-pandemic welfare system can be further improved, according to a new Resolution Foundation report published today (Thursday). With the crisis prompting the Government to introduce radical new policies, such … Continued

The Covid-19 crisis has led to the biggest annual employment fall for workers over 50 since the 1980s, according to a new report published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report A U-Shaped Crisis – supported by the Nuffield Foundation – examines the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on older workers, and how … Continued

The Covid-19 pandemic has sent public sector borrowing for the year 2020-21 to £303.1 billion – almost six times as large as the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) pre-pandemic forecast back in March 2020 (£54.8 billion) – the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS public sector finance figures for March. … Continued

UK households are far more likely to have experienced a severe income shock during the Covid-19 crisis than their French and German counterparts, and are more likely to have taken on additional debt in response, according to a new report published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report After Shocks – supported by JPMorgan … Continued

The UK has a 6.2 million ‘Covid employment gap’ of lower employment and furloughed employees who need to get back to work, highlighting the scale of the economic task ahead of us, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics today (Tuesday). The latest data showed a labour market … Continued

Press release from the Resolution Foundation Recent education leavers and young Black workers hardest hit by Covid-19 job shock Young people have experienced a sharp rise in unemployment during the pandemic – despite widespread furloughing and a rise in studying – with the increase fastest among recent education-leavers and young Black people, according to new … Continued

The 2020s will see the UK experience unprecedented economic change – driven by the triple shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and the transition to a Net Zero future – but the country lacks a plan to successfully navigate the decade ahead. This is the challenge posed in a ground-breaking new collaboration between the Resolution … Continued

Typical household incomes grew at fastest rate since 2001-02 in the year running up to the pandemic, but the proportion of children living in poverty also increased, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in the response to the latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics. The latest data shows that typical household incomes grew by … Continued

In response to today’s new HMRC figures on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS), which show that 4.7 million workers were furloughed (either fully or partially) at the end of February this year, Daniel Tomlinson, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “4.7 million employees were furloughed at the end of last month, showing just … Continued

A difficult end to 2020 saw employment fall by 148,000, but the Job Retention Scheme has prevented an 7.9 per cent fall in hours worked feeding through into further job losses in early 2021, the Resolution Foundation said (today) in response to the latest labour market statistics. The employment rate fell by 0.3 per cent … Continued

Pay growth was far weaker and more volatile last year than official headline data suggests, with half of workers experiencing a year-on-year real-terms pay cut last Autumn, according to the Resolution Foundation’s latest quarterly Earnings Outlook published today (Monday). The latest Outlook examines what has really happened to pay packets during the pandemic last year, … Continued

The Covid-19 pandemic, twelve months on from the first lockdown on 23 March, has been marked by big successes on income support and vaccines, repeated failures on lockdown that have cost lives and deepened the economic crisis, and a legacy of inequality that needs to be addressed in the recovery, according to new Resolution Foundation … Continued

The Chancellor made the right judgement in yesterday’s bigger than expected Budget, by supporting the recovery in the next two years before turning to raising taxes in the middle of the decade – but he may have more work to do in order to plug gaps in support, tackle the living standards scarring from the … Continued

Businesses were at the centre of the Chancellor’s welcome £67bn extension of economic support over the next two years, but are also being asked to contribute most to bring the public finances into balance by the middle of this decade, with the largest rise in corporation tax for half a century, the Resolution Foundation said … Continued

Freezing the personal tax allowance at £12,500, and the higher rate threshold at £50,000, for the remainder of the parliament would raise £6bn a year by 2024-25, while protecting lower-income households that have been hardest hit by the crisis, the Resolution Foundation says today. With the Chancellor set to signal his commitment to balancing the … Continued

The Chancellor should combine a £30 billion extension of emergency Covid support with £70 billion of additional stimulus as part of a £100 billion Budget package to boost Britain’s economic recovery, according to a major new report published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. How to throw good money after good assesses the latest economic … Continued

  Firms are learning to live with lockdown restrictions, with payrolled employment actually increasing by 83,000 in January, but the crisis is taking its toll as young workers, who should be a priority for Government support, the Resolution Foundation said (today) in response to the latest labour market statistics. The Job Retention Scheme (JRS), currently estimated to … Continued

Almost two million workers were unemployed or fully furloughed in January – and had been for at least six months – highlighting the scale of lasting damage to the UK’s labour force that will need to be addressed in the Budget, according to major new research published today by the Resolution Foundation. Long Covid in … Continued