Labour market Scotland on brink of finally closing its seven year long ‘jobs gap’ 20 January 2016 RF warns that stronger employment gains will be needed to boost future pay and living standards Scotland is just 9,000 jobs short of closing its post-crisis ‘jobs gap’ and returning to its mid-2008 employment rate, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) as it publishes a major new report on the Scottish labour market. This milestone … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Pay slowdown set to continue 18 January 2016 Risk that real pay could fall back below 2 per cent for first time since February 2015 Official figures published later this week are expected to show that average wages grew by 1.9-2 per cent in November, representing a further slowdown in the pace of Britain’s pay recovery, according to independent think tank the Resolution … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Scotland has overturned English ‘pay premium’ 17 January 2016 Further employment gains and stronger productivity growth needed to maintain this advantage Scotland has overturned England’s longstanding ‘pay premium’, according to new analysis published today by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s analysis, part of a major report The State of Working Scotland which will be published later this week, shows that in … Continued READ MORE
Housing Over 400,000 households in London spend more than half their income on housing 6 January 2016 One in four private renters across the capital are ‘housing pinched’ Around 430,000 households across London – containing 990,000 people – spend more than half of their income on housing costs, according to new analysis published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. The analysis shows that the proportion of ‘housing pinched’ households in London (those … Continued READ MORE
Labour market National Living Wage to present bigger challenge in lower-paying areas such as Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway 4 January 2016 Nearly one-third of all employees working in Clackmannanshire and Dumfries and Galloway are set to benefit from the new National Living Wage by 2020, according to new analysis published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. The analysis shows that the impact of the National Living Wage (NLW) – the new wage floor of £7.20 an … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Action needed to successfully implement National Living Wage in lower-paying cities such as Sheffield and Birmingham 4 January 2016 Managing major increases in the legal wage floor will be a key first test of new devolved economic leadership arrangements Implementing the new National Living Wage will be toughest in lower-paying city regions such as Sheffield, Nottingham and Birmingham, where over a quarter of all employees will be affected by 2020, according to new analysis … Continued READ MORE
Living standards 26 percentage point gap between best and worst parts of the UK for BAME employment 28 December 2015 Closing sub-regional employment gaps central to reaching full employment and would mean 150,000 more ethnic minority people in work The employment gap between the best and worst performing sub-regions of the UK for all working-aged people is just 11 percentage points, but this more than doubles to 26 percentage points for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Strong rise in employment but pay rebound tailing off 16 December 2015 Uncertainty over pay prospects in UK highlights differences with US ahead of possible rate rise by Fed Britain’s jobs market continues to show signs of tightening but real wage growth is falling back relatively sharply, highlighting the difference between the UK and US as the Fed considers a rate rise, the Resolution Foundation said … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Pick-up in productivity needed to maintain pay rebound in to 2016 15 December 2015 Return of inflation risks pay growth falling back below trend, following welcome progress this year Having shown signs of rebounding in 2015, real-terms typical pay growth looks set to fall back in 2016 unless there is a significant pick-up in productivity, according to the Resolution Foundation’s latest quarterly earnings outlook published today (Tuesday). With … Continued READ MORE
Housing Share of wealth owned by the recently retired retired has now overtaken the under 45s 10 December 2015 The share of wealth enjoyed by the recently retired has overtaken that held by under 45s since the financial crisis, David Willetts will say at a lecture at Keele University later today (Thursday). Willetts will draw on new analysis by the Resolution Foundation which shows that the share of total wealth held households headed by … Continued READ MORE
Housing Almost a third of all spending by under-30s goes on housing 8 December 2015 Housing accounts for almost a third of all spending in households headed by someone under 30, compared to less than 20 per cent for those aged 50 to 74, the Resolution Foundation said in response to the latest ONS Family Spending Survey published this morning (Tuesday). The RF analysis of the latest ONS figures show … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Low-income working families on Universal Credit set to lose £1,300 26 November 2015 Working households on Universal Credit are set to lose an average of £1,000 in 2020, rising to £1,300 for those with children, despite the welcome reversal of the main cuts to tax credits announced in the Spending Review – according to new analysis published today (Thursday) by the independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation notes that these losses will … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Very welcome relief on tax credits but most losses have been delayed rather than reversed 25 November 2015 Pace of spending cuts eased with the state set to be increasingly focused on healthcare and pensions Reversing tax credits cuts will bring welcome relief for millions of families who were set to lose an average of £1,300 next year. But most of the losses have been delayed rather than scrapped, leaving millions of working … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Welcome return to pay growth but far stronger rises needed to beat inflation next year 18 November 2015 Strongest growth among lowest paid following 3 per cent increase in minimum wage Real earnings growth has finally returned, but far stronger pay rises will be needed to beat inflation and sustain the pay recovery next year, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. The … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Half of all employers expect to be affected by the new National Living Wage 18 November 2015 Employers most likely to say they’ll manage higher costs by improving productivity Over half of all employers (54%) say the new National Living Wage (NLW) will have an effect on their wage bill, with three in ten of those organisations that will be affected by the new higher wage floor planning to raise productivity … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Up to a million care workers set to benefit from new National Living Wage 12 November 2015 Chancellor’s Autumn Statement must address the looming £1.4bn ‘pay crunch’ in social care Up to a million care workers are set to benefit from the new National Living Wage (NLW), but a combination of rising costs, a growing workforce and reduced funding will create a ‘pay crunch’ that the Chancellor must address in his Autumn … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Record employment but summer slowdown in pay recovery 11 November 2015 Pick-up in productivity should help to support wage growth in coming months The UK’s headline employment rate hit another historic high, but real wage growth slowed over the summer. A pick-up in productivity and further falls in unemployment should support upward pay pressure in the coming months, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Health and old age set to account for over 40 per cent of state spending by end of the decade 9 November 2015 Share of spending on education and economic development set to fall to its lowest level on record The share of state spending on old age and health is set to be more than twice that allocated to education and economic development combined by the end of the parliament – up from only 50% more pre-crisis … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Resolution Foundation warns that pushing ahead with tweaked proposals on tax credits would be expensive and still leave most families worse off 5 November 2015 New research shows the Treasury could reverse the most damaging tax credit cuts and still meet key fiscal objectives The government has several options for funding a reversal of its planned tax credit cuts, but pushing ahead with tweaked proposals would be expensive, leave millions of families worse off, and produce perverse work incentives, according … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Over a third of women in their 20s set to earn less than the living wage 2 November 2015 Over a third of women in their 20s are set to earn less than the living wage next year, according to a new analysis published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation to mark Living Wage week. The analysis finds that the number of employees earning less than the living wage is set to rise to … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Intergenerational Centre Downturn has been felt very differently across generations 28 October 2015 Trend risks being reinforced over the parliament by welfare changes Commenting on new ONS figures published today (Wednesday) that ‘nowcast’ household incomes up to the year 2014/15, Adam Corlett, Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation said: “Today’s ONS figures highlight the depth of the recent living standards squeeze, and the welcome recovery in the last year, … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Employment at record high but return to pre-crash pay packets still a long way off 14 October 2015 Finance sector closest to returning to pre-crash earnings, construction furthest away A welcome return to falling unemployment is creating upward pressure on wages but, after an unprecedented six-year squeeze, average earnings remain a long way off their pre-crash peak, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest labour market statistics. The employment … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Private sector earnings growing at fastest rate in 15 years 12 October 2015 Low inflation and welcome shift in types of job roles being created is driving mini pay surge Private sector earnings are growing at their fastest rate since the early 2000s, but maintaining the pay surge into 2016 will prove challenging once inflation starts to rise, according to the Resolution Foundation’s new earnings outlook published … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Summer Budget changes will push up to 200,000 working households into poverty 7 October 2015 Sharp increase in working poverty despite welcome pay boost from the ‘National Living Wage’ The number of poor working households will rise by up to an additional 200,000 over the course of the parliament as a result of policies announced in the Summer Budget, according to a report published today (Thursday) by the independent think-tank … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Proportion of low paid workers set to fall to lowest level since the mid-80s 4 October 2015 ‘Low pay’ gap will almost halve over the parliament The proportion of low paid employees across Britain is set to fall to its lowest level since 1985, according to a forthcoming report from the Resolution Foundation. Low Pay Britain 2015 will show that the lifting of the legal wage floor associated with the new ‘National … Continued READ MORE
