UK public debt now exceeds the size of the economy for the first time in nearly 60 years 19 June 2020 The impact of the pandemic has pushed the UK’s public debt level above the size of the economy for the first time since 1963, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest public finance figures. Public borrowing in May was the highest on record (£55.2 billion), and slightly higher than borrowing in … Continued READ MORE
Lockdown Britain see record-breaking falls in job vacancies and hours worked 16 June 2020 The UK experienced has experienced record falls hours worked and vacancies since the lockdown began, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS figures. The latest ONS data shows that while the headline measure of unemployment (covering the period February to April) is yet to capture the effects of the economic … Continued READ MORE
Seaside towns and tourist hotspots at sharp end of job losses 14 June 2020 Every region of the UK is seeing a significant rise in unemployment, but coastal tourist destinations like Blackpool, Pembrokeshire and Devon are seeing the biggest jobs hit, the Resolution Foundation says in new analysis published today (Sunday). With a drop of nearly half a million PAYE workers between March and April, Britain is facing a … Continued READ MORE
Record-busting collapse in GDP as output in April falls by a fifth 12 June 2020 April saw the sharpest monthly contraction on record, with GDP falling by 20.4 per cent compared with March, the Resolution Foundation said in response to latest figures released today (Friday) by the Office for National Statistics. This monthly contraction is more than 9 times greater than any pre-pandemic monthly fall since these records began in 1997 (beating the 2.2 per cent fall in June 2002). In the three months to April output fell by 10.4 per … Continued READ MORE
Two-in-five high-income families have experienced household budget improvements during the crisis, compared to one-in-eight low-income households 9 June 2020 Nearly two-in-five (38 per cent) high-income, working-age families have strengthened their household budgets since the crisis began, by reducing their spending and avoiding a hit to their incomes, while just one-in-eight (12 per cent) low-income families have been in this position, according to a new Resolution Foundation report published today (Tuesday). Much of the debate … Continued READ MORE
Low-paid workers deserve a post-pandemic settlement of higher pay and greater control over their work RF calls for new wage boards to drive up standards in problem industries 3 June 2020 A new settlement for low-paid workers, hardest hit by both health and economic risks in this crisis, should be introduced to improve their pay and conditions as Britain emerges from the crisis, according to a new report published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report notes that the UK’s 4.2 million low-paid workers have … Continued READ MORE
Private renters fifty per cent more likely to have fallen behind with housing costs than mortgagors 30 May 2020 One-in-eight (13 per cent) private renters have fallen behind with their housing costs since the coronavirus crisis started, compared to just one-in-twelve (8 per cent) mortgaged home owners, highlighting how the pandemic has exacerbated Britain’s housing divide, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Saturday). The report, based on a YouGov survey of 6,005 … Continued READ MORE
Chancellor right to speed up part-time furloughing, and go slow on employer contributions 29 May 2020 The Chancellor has sensibly set out a cautious timetable for bringing employer contributions into the Job Retention Scheme (JRS), alongside extending the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme that will be very generous in many cases, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the Chancellor’s announcement. The Foundation says that the cautious timetable for introducing … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit has passed its first Coronavirus crisis test – but tougher challenges lie ahead Three in four new claimants surveyed were satisfied with how their UC claim was handled 27 May 2020 Universal Credit (UC) has passed its first test of the crisis by coping with an unprecedented surge in demand, but tougher challenges lie ahead in protecting family incomes and helping people back into work, according to a major new report published today (Wednesday). The report, supported by The Standard Life Foundation, considers how UC has … Continued READ MORE
Government borrowed as much last month as it did last year as the fiscal cost of coronavirus bites 22 May 2020 Government borrowing reached £62.1 billion in April – the highest monthly figure since records began in 1993, and as much as the whole of last year (£62.7bn between April 2019-March 2020) – highlighting the stark fiscal cost of the coronavirus crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS public finance figures. … Continued READ MORE
Top 1 per cent received a sixth of the nation’s income pre-crisis, due to hidden rise of capital gains The top 0.1 per cent’s income share is 44 per cent bigger than previously thought 21 May 2020 The Top 1 per cent received a far greater, and faster growing, share of the nation’s income pre-crisis than previously thought, if capital gains are included in official statistics, according to major new research published today (Thursday). The research – a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation, LSE and CAGE Research Centre at the University of … Continued READ MORE
Britain’s jobs crisis bites as employee jobs fall by 450,000 and vacancies dry up at record rates Response to ONS labour market statistics May 2020 19 May 2020 The number of employees fell by 450,000 in April, while vacancies crashed by around 50 per cent, giving an early indication of the scale of the jobs crisis Britain is currently experiencing, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS figures published this morning. Flash estimates from HMRC’s PAYE real-time information … Continued READ MORE
Britain experiencing a U-shaped living standards crisis, with young and older workers most likely to have lost work or had their earnings reduced 19 May 2020 Over one in three 18-24 year olds, and three in ten workers in their early 60s, are receiving less pay than they did at the start of the year, compared to less than a quarter of workers aged 35-49, according to new Resolution Foundation published today (Tuesday). The report, Young workers in the coronavirus crisis, … Continued READ MORE
Nearly a third of lower-paid employees have lost jobs or been furloughed, compared to less than one-in-ten top earners 16 May 2020 30 per cent of Britain’s lowest-paid employees have either been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether, according to a new Resolution Foundation report published today (Saturday). The report, The effects of the coronavirus crisis on workers, based on a survey of 6,005 UK adults and supported by the Health Foundation, examines how the current economic … Continued READ MORE
Sharp economic contraction in the first quarter of 2020 is an ominous sign of things to come 13 May 2020 GDP fell by 2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, its sharpest contraction since the peak of the financial crisis (Q4 2008), giving an ominous early indication of the scale of the economic hit the UK is currently experiencing the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS GDP figures. … Continued READ MORE
Chancellor right to extend and reform the Job Retention Scheme 12 May 2020 The Chancellor has made the right call in announcing a four-month extension to the Job Retention Scheme, opening it up to ‘partial furloughing’, and asking firms to contribute to the scheme instead of reducing support for workers, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). Torsten Bell, Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Job Retention … Continued READ MORE
Ending the Job Retention Scheme too soon risks a second surge in unemployment RF calls for scheme to be extended to partial furloughs, with employers contributing to furloughed workers’ wages 12 May 2020 The Government should reject calls for a rapid ending of its Job Retention Scheme (JRS), and instead set out plans for a gradual phasing out, with the timing dependent on the lifting of lockdown restrictions, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). The report – Getting Britain working (safely) again – says the … Continued READ MORE
Bank says Britain is in the midst of the biggest economic contraction in over 300 years 7 May 2020 The Bank of England’s first official take on the economic impact of coronavirus suggests that Britain is in the midst of the biggest economic contraction in over 300 years, and that even a rapid recovery will leave a longer-term legacy of high unemployment, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the Bank’s Monetary … Continued READ MORE
Corona crisis could increase youth unemployment by 600,000 this year – and scar young people’s prospects for far longer 6 May 2020 The current economic crisis risks pushing an additional 600,000 18-24-year-olds into unemployment in the coming year – and causing long-term damage to their pay and job prospects unless major new support is provided – according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Wednesday). With evidence from previous recessions showing that young people who’ve just left … Continued READ MORE
The state has stepped in to support over eight million workers since mid-March 4 May 2020 New figures announced today (Monday) by HMRC that 6.3 million workers have been furloughed since the Job Retention Scheme opened on 20 April, and new DWP figures showing that 1.8 million Universal Credit claims have been made between 16 March and the end of April (along with 250,000 claims for Jobseekers’ Allowance), show that Britain … Continued READ MORE
Women, the young and low-paid workers are bearing the biggest health and economic risks from the coronavirus crisis 28 April 2020 Working women are most likely to be bearing the health risks from coronavirus by being key workers, while young people and the low-paid are most likely to work in sectors of the economy that have been shutdown, according to a new report published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation. While the current economic crisis is … Continued READ MORE
Government faces dash for cash as it seeks to raise £225 billion over four months Response to HM Treasury’s announcement of its financing remit 23 April 2020 The Government is seeking to raise £225 billion over the four months from April to July through issuing gilts, highlighting the stark nature of the Government’s financing needs amid the current crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to new a HM Treasury announcement on gilt issuance and the ONS’ public finances data … Continued READ MORE
Record high employment in February, and record numbers of new Universal Credit applications in March show the difference a few weeks has made 21 April 2020 Over 1.7 million individuals have begun Universal Credit claims since the Government advised against all but essential contact and travel in March – just weeks after the country recorded a new record–high employment rate – the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest labour market figures and new Universal Credit claimant numbers released this morning. The latest data on the UK … Continued READ MORE
Huge uncertainty about the scale of the corona crisis means the Chancellor’s job is far from done 16 April 2020 The Government must take further radical policy steps to strengthen its economic response to coronavirus amid huge uncertainty over the length of the outbreak, and the economic and fiscal costs entailed, according to a new report published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report – Doing more of what it takes – draws on evidence from … Continued READ MORE
UK on course for deepest recession in three centuries and highest borrowing since the war 14 April 2020 Coronavirus is on course to deliver the biggest annual fall in GDP since the 1700s and the highest borrowing since the Second World War, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest economic outlook. The projected quarterly GDP fall of 35 per cent in the second quarter … Continued READ MORE
