Four-fifths of the gains from tax and benefit changes coming into effect later this week (6 April) will go to the richest half of households, with the poorest third of households set to be £70 worse off on average, according to a new briefing note published today (Sunday) by the Resolution Foundation. The analysis looks … Continued

Pay for workers on the National Living Wage (NLW) will rise nearly four times faster than for a typical worker over this parliament, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis marking the latest increase of the NLW to £7.50 an hour today (Saturday). Today’s 30p increase means pay for NLW earners is estimated to be 1.5 … Continued

The number of EU-born workers in the UK fell by 50,000 in the last three months of 2016 to around 2,300,000 – with the biggest falls taking place among graduates and those working in banking, the public sector and construction – according to new analysis published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s analysis … Continued

Real earnings falls have arrived earlier than expected as inflation has risen above the Bank of England’s target for the first time since December 2013, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest inflation figures. Inflation had been below the Bank’s 2 per cent target for a record 38 months, driving recent … Continued

  Commenting on the DWP’s Households Below Average Income statistics published today (Thursday) – the biggest and most authoritative official survey of household incomes – Adam Corlett, Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The big picture for living standards has been a sharp squeeze and stagnation in the wake of the financial crisis, followed … Continued

Commenting on the news that the Chancellor has dropped plans to increase Class 4 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed in this parliament, Torsten Bell, Director of the Resolution Foundation, said: “Whatever the rights and wrongs of Conservative Manifesto commitments, today’s U-turn on National Insurance means the government has missed an opportunity to correct a … Continued

  Unemployment has fallen to its lowest level in over 40 years but pay growth is also slowing rapidly – and is already negative in parts of the economy ­– the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market figures. Employment remained at a record 74.6 per cent, while unemployment … Continued

Zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) have hit a record high of 905,000, but a significant slowdown in their recent growth has been confirmed, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS figures. The latest figures show that the number of people on a ZHC grew by more than 100,000 between the last three … Continued

A combination of rising inflation and pay restraint means that average real pay is now falling in the public sector, and is expected to continue falling over the next three years, according to Resolution Foundation’s latest Earning Outlook published today (Wednesday). Forecasts released by the OBR last week showed that overall pay growth could turn … Continued

Britain is on course for an unprecedented 15 years of spending cuts and lost pay growth, according to the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of Budget 2017. The report finds that despite the Budget day focus on short term forecast improvements, the date for achieving an overall budget surplus has been pushed back until 2025. Average … Continued

UK economy forecast to be smaller than previously expected while 80 per cent of the Autumn Statement borrowing downgrade remains Despite short term improvements to both growth and borrowing, the Chancellor has been given weaker than expected economic forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to the 2017 … Continued

National Insurance reforms benefit low-paid hairdressers but self-employed management consultants face bigger bills The Chancellor is right to begin tackling the unfair and expensive tax advantages enjoyed by self-employed workers by increasing the rate of National Insurance contributions (NICs) they make, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the Budget announcement today. This change should … Continued

But slowdown in last six months suggests firms’ appetite for ZHCs may be waning The number of people on a zero-hours contract (ZHC) hit a record high of 905,000 in the last three months of 2016, according to new analysis of official data published today (Friday) by the Resolution Foundation. The analysis finds that the … Continued

Healthier-than-expected tax receipts, the absence of any immediate post-referendum slowdown in growth and measurement changes are set to lower Budget borrowing forecasts by £29bn between 2016-17 and 2020-21, according to the Resolution Foundation’s pre-Budget outlook published today (Tuesday). Economy Drive, which brings together economic data published since last November’s Autumn Statement to assess the kind … Continued

  A slowdown in job moving, employers no longer rewarding staff for long service, and a shift towards work in low-paying sectors have meant that millennials have had a slower and lower-paid start to their careers than the generation before them, according to the new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. Study, work, … Continued

  The recent rise in self-employment is being led by workers in relatively ‘privileged’ high-skilled, higher-paying sectors such as advertising and banking. Their considerable tax advantages over employees, rather than new technology and the gig economy, are central to the rapid growth in self-employment, according to new analysis published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. … Continued

  Employment has inched up to a new record high but rising prices have reduced pay growth to its lowest level in almost two years, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to the latest ONS figures. Employment reached a new record high of 74.6 per cent and there was a welcome fall in working-age … Continued

  The doubling of inflation in just four months shows that rising prices will be the big living standards story of 2017, the Resolution Foundation said today in response to the latest inflation figures. CPI inflation increased from 0.9% in October 2016 to 1.8% in January 2017 – its highest level since June 2014. CPIH, … Continued

Strong recent growth in typical pensioner incomes has been driven by new cohorts of pensioners who are more likely than their predecessors to still be in work, own a home and have access to generous private pension pots. This is according to new analysis published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation for the Intergenerational Commission. … Continued

  Millennial men are falling behind the generation before them in their early careers, reflecting a shift towards young men doing low paid work traditionally carried out by women, Resolution Foundation Director Torsten Bell will say in the annual Grigor McClelland lecture to Manchester Business School later today (Thursday). The lecture, on 21st century inequality, … Continued

Squeeze on poorer households, rather than 80s-style boom for the rich, driving 21st Century inequality Britain is on course for a major living standards slowdown, with typical households seeing almost no income growth over the remainder of this Parliament, according to the Resolution Foundation’s annual audit of living standards published today (Wednesday). A particularly tight … Continued

  The UK’s mini living standards boom of recent years has ended with income growth for typical working age households more than halving to just 0.5 per cent this year, the Resolution Foundation’s annual living standards audit will warn later this week. The audit – a detailed analysis of the state of living standards across … Continued

  Rising rents and house prices are swallowing up the living standards gains from the West of England city region’s impressive economic performance over the last decade, according to a new report published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. A Western Union – published ahead of the West of England’s first ever Metro Mayoral election … Continued

The UK jobs market is in rude health but rising inflation is set to eat into pay packets this year, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest labour market figures. The headline employment rate returned to its record high of 74.5 per cent in the three months to November, underpinned by … Continued

Responding to the latest inflation figures for December, which showed that CPI increased to 1.6 per cent (up from 1.2 per cent in November, and 0.6 per cent in July), Conor D’Arcy, Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Today’s sharper than expected rise in inflation shows that the ultra-low price rises that consumers have … Continued