Unprecedented government support helped to ensure that typical disposable incomes didn’t fall over the course of the pandemic, and actually rose for poor families, in marked contrast to the biggest income squeeze in a generation that Britain is currently living through, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the latest Households Below Average … Continued

A surprise rise in inflation last month – with CPI rising from 10.1 to 10.4 per cent – will further complicate the decision over what to do about interest rates when MPC members meet tomorrow, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS prices data. The inflation rise in February was against market … Continued

Over the past year, soaring inflation has caused a massive fall in workers’ real wages. But Britain’s pay problems – and the stagnation in living standards they have contributed to – go much further back. If wages had continued to grow as they were before the financial crash of 2008, real average weekly earnings would … Continued

The Chancellor announced an impressively broad suite of policies to encourage more people into work, but Britain’s economy remains stuck in a deep funk – with people supported into work but getting poorer, and paying more tax but seeing public services cut, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in its overnight analysis. The Foundation’s Budget … Continued

Faced with an economic outlook that has improved in the short term but remains weak, the Chancellor today (Wednesday) delivered a major policy package that is likely to be more successful at getting Britain working than investing, the Resolution Foundation said in its response to Budget 2023. Following energy price falls, the OBR has significantly … Continued

The jobs market has remained resilient in the face of rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis, with unemployment stable and wage inflation moving closer to a range the Bank of England can live with, said the Resolution Foundation in response to today’s labour market statistics release. Demand for workers appears stable, with vacancies falling … Continued

The Chancellor is set to receive a short-term borrowing boost in his Budget, some of which he will use to prevent a spike in energy bills and petrol prices next month. But in the face of a longer-term weak outlook he faces tough choices on how to resolve public sector strikes and boost Britain’s growth … Continued

Recent improvements in the UK’s trade openness have been driven by a temporary boost from the global dash for gold that has covered over a worrying fall in goods exports, and more promising growth in the exports of services such as banking, travel and education – the one area of trade where the UK has … Continued

The Ofgem announcement today (Monday) that the energy price cap will fall to £3,280 in April, down from £4,279 over the past three months, confirms that the cost of universal energy support – delivered through the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) – is likely to fall by 90 per cent next year to £1.4 billion, says … Continued

Record tax receipts from self-assessment in January and downward revisions to previous months mean that borrowing is around £30 billion lower than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast last November for the year to date, providing a fresh tonic to the Chancellor as he prepares to deliver his Spring Budget in three weeks’ time, … Continued

Government efforts to boost Britain’s workforce should focus on supporting more mothers into work, and helping older workers and those with a disability stay in work, rather than persuading the large Covid cohort of older workers to ‘unretire’, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). The issue of workforce participation has come to … Continued

CPI inflation fell for the third consecutive month to 10.1 per cent in January, but the inflation rates experienced by rich and poor households grew to 2.9 percentage points, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS prices data. Services inflation – which is a better indicator of domestically generated inflation … Continued

Labour market data now paint a picture of softer demand for and increased supply of workers – with rising unemployment and falling vacancies contrasting with a welcome rise in participation, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The latest data points to a cooling down in the … Continued

The UK avoided a recession by the narrowest of margins last year, but with household incomes falling, families are still living through a living standards downturn, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS GDP data. GDP in Q4 2022 was broadly flat, following a contraction in Q3, with weak trade … Continued

New Resolution Foundation briefing The only way is down by Emily Fry and James Smith identifies: Very good news on bills (lower than they would have been) but it might not feel like it (still rising) Typical annual energy bills are now forecast to be around £2,400 next year (2023-24), down from the forecast of … Continued

The Bank of England upgraded its economic outlook for the UK in 2023 as it increased interest rates for the tenth successive time to 4 per cent, but also showed that the UK is in the midst of the weakest 20-year period of growth since 1938, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). The Bank of … Continued

The cost-of-living crisis has left over two-in-five working age households struggling with or falling behind on their housing costs, compared to just over a quarter of households at the peak of the pandemic, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis published today (Saturday). The Foundation’s latest Housing Outlook uses data from a new YouGov survey of … Continued

TaskHer, the online booking platform helping homeowners book professional tradeswomen, today announced that it has raised £200k in a pre-seed funding round from a trio of UK impact investors. The investment from Bethnal Green Ventures, Resolution Foundation and Ufi Ventures will be used to develop the platform and to support and build the growing community … Continued

Social care workers have higher levels of job satisfaction and stronger job attachment than those in other low-paying sectors, but many have to contend with unsafe working conditions and unlawful under-payment of the minimum wage, according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s report Who cares?, supported by Unbound Philanthropy, … Continued

Recent glimmers of good economic news have yet to feed into the public finances, with borrowing in December around £4 billion higher than market expectations, and nearly £10 billion higher than OBR forecasts (due in partly to the treatment of student loans), the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS public … Continued

Inflation continued to ease towards the end of the year, but remained particularly high for low-income families who continue to fall on the wrong side of a large cost-of-living gap, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS prices data. CPI inflation fell from 10.7 to 10.5 per cent in December. … Continued

A cooling labour market, with vacancies falling and youth unemployment rising to 9.8 per cent, suggest that further job losses could soon be on the way, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The UK labour market was tight in late 2022, prompting nominal private sector growth … Continued

Government incentives for savings are not fit for purpose, with around 750,000 low-and-middle income households having no savings at all, as rich individuals benefit from costly and unnecessary tax breaks, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Monday). The report ISA ISA Baby – published in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – … Continued

Surprise economic growth in November means that the UK is unlikely to have fallen into recession last year. But this will be of cold comfort for many families who are still in the midst of a deep living standards downturn, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS GDP data. Surprising … Continued

Five poorly-justified tax reliefs, used by just 70,000 individuals, are costing other taxpayers £4 billion a year, according to new HMRC tax reliefs statistics published today (Thursday), and should be in the sights of the Chancellor as he approaches his Budget on 15 March, the Resolution Foundation says. The latest HMRC data shows that 105 … Continued