Living standards The Living Standards Audit 2019 17 July 2019 by Adam Corlett and Stephen Clarke and Charlie McCurdy and Fahmida Rahman and Matthew Whittaker In the tenth edition of our annual Living Standards Audit, we examine both recent and longer-term trends in UK living standards. We consider how incomes have changed and for whom, and this year we dig deeper into what economic trends have driven those changes over the past 25 years. READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty· Cities and regions Mapping gaps Geographic inequality in productivity and living standards 11 July 2019 by Stephen Clarke Regional inequality is a hot topic, particularly since the EU referendum exposed huge voting divides between London, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the rest of the UK. This report examines the relative economic performance of UK regions and nations since the 1960s, and the extent to which this has driven differences in household living standards. READ MORE
Intergenerational Centre An intergenerational audit for the UK 2019 20 June 2019 by Laura Gardiner and George Bangham and Stephen Clarke and Fahmida Rahman and Lindsay Judge and Daniel Tomlinson Our Intergenerational audit for the UK takes stock of generational living standards differences in Britain according to the latest data. It does this by considering living standards within four domains: jobs, skills and pay; housing costs and security; taxes, benefits and household income; and wealth and assets. READ MORE
Labour market· Low pay· Pay· Living Wage Low Pay Britain 2019 30 May 2019 by Nye Cominetti and Kathleen Henehan and Stephen Clarke This is our ninth annual report on low pay. This edition focuses on the minimum wage, which recently turned 20. It analyses the extent to which the minimum wage has reduced the proportion of the working-age population in low pay. It also looks to the future, asking how fast the minimum wage can boost wages for the lowest earners while managing the inevitable risks to employment. READ MORE
Living standards· Intergenerational Centre Growing Pains: the impact of leaving education during a recession on earnings and employment 13 May 2019 by Stephen Clarke This report looks at the fortunes of the “crisis cohort”: those who left education between 2008 and 2011. By analysing outcomes for those unfortunate enough to enter the labour market in the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession, this paper estimates how severe an impact the downturn had on people who left education in its midst, and how long-lasting these effects were. READ MORE
Labour market Setting the record straight: How record employment has changed the UK 14 January 2019 by Stephen Clarke and Nye Cominetti This report looks at Britain’s record employment rate, and the impact that rising employment has had on different groups within society. We bust some myths too, showing that the increase in employment is not all about London and zero-hour contracts. READ MORE
Social mobility· Wealth & assets· Housing· Intergenerational Centre House of the rising son (or daughter): the impact of parental wealth on their children’s homeownership 4 December 2018 by Stephen Clarke and John Wood The rise of the so-called Bank of Mum and Dad (BOMAD) is much-discussed but until now there has been little analysis of the strength of the relationship between parental support and people’s chances of becoming homeowners. This paper fills this gap: we analyse the association between the property wealth held by people’s parents and their own, stripping out the impact that other factors (earnings, education, etc) have on homeownership. READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay The Resolution Foundation Earnings Outlook Q2 2018 13 November 2018 by Stephen Clarke and Nye Cominetti Our quarterly earnings outlook for Q2 2018. We focus on the decline in regional job mobility (people moving region for work) and argue that this is due to structural rather than cyclical trends – potentially due to the rise of remote working, and fewer people working in large firms with multiple locations. READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Count the pennies: Explaining a decade of lost pay growth 9 October 2018 by Stephen Clarke and Paul Gregg This paper gets to the bottom of why real wages are still 3 per cent below their level before the crisis. It both explains why the wage squeeze was so much worse in the UK compared to other advanced economies and why the recovery since 2014 has been so sluggish. READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay The RF Earnings Outlook Q1 2018 2 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke Our quarterly earnings outlook, for Q1 2018. The outlook explores whether the current pace of wage growth is as good as it gets. Despite signs of improvement, annual growth in weekly wages is almost 1.5 percentage points lower than the pre-crisis average. READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty The Living Standards Audit 2018 24 July 2018 by Adam Corlett and Stephen Clarke and Conor D’Arcy and John Wood Britain’s weak post-crisis living standards recovery went into reverse last year for the poorest 30 per cent of families. Our analysis shows how important cash benefits like tax credits have been for supporting ‘just about managing’ families and tackling child poverty since the millennium. READ MORE
Living standards· Cities and regions London Stalling: Half a century of living standards in London 27 June 2018 by Stephen Clarke London’s post-crisis recovery has been similar to that of the rest of the country, in good and bad terms.The city now has an employment rate in line with the UK average but productivity and pay growth have both been sluggish. Where London is unique is that it has a number of looming problems – demographic change, high living costs and inequality – which make the city a particularly challenging place for those on low-incomes. READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay The RF Earnings Outlook Q4 2017 28 March 2018 by Stephen Clarke In Q4 2017 the pay squeeze for that year looked set to dissipate and employment rates continued to rise. But, taking a longer view, weaker than expected productivity growth suggests that the outlook for real pay growth is likely to remain subdued. READ MORE
Labour market· Intergenerational Centre The kids aren’t alright: a new approach to tackle the challenges faced by young people in the UK labour market 26 February 2018 by Stephen Clarke and Conor D’Arcy A bold new approach is required to help the one in three millennials who say they’ve been held back from moving jobs. New challenges have emerged for today’s millennials: over half of all those on zero-hours contracts aged 16-34. READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Counting the hours: two decades of changes in earnings and hours worked 15 January 2018 by Stephen Clarke and George Bangham Economists have raised concerns that the UK’s pay distribution is ‘hollowing out’, as offshoring and automation diminish the number of mid-paid jobs. We show that some hollowing out has occurred, though only among men, and that it is mainly the result of shifts in working hours rather than occupational change. READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay The RF Earnings Outlook Q3 2017 27 December 2017 by Stephen Clarke Our quarterly earnings outlook, for 2017 Q3. We argued that, just as the country’s politics were (/are!) in standstill due to Brexit, 2018 was likely to be a ‘standstill’ year on pay. READ MORE
Low pay· Labour market· Pay· Cities and regions ‘A-typical’ working day in Greater Manchester 25 October 2017 by Stephen Clarke Greater Manchester has experienced a growth in ‘a-typical’ work in recent years, with implications for pay and progression. In this briefing, we explore the labour market performance of Greater Manchester over recent years, comparing it to other city regions over time. READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay Earnings Outlook Q2 2017 18 October 2017 by Stephen Clarke This Earnings Outlook looks at the second quarter of 2017. This was a period in which we saw the best and worst of the UK labour market. On the one hand, compared to a year earlier real pay fell by 0.5 per cent; yet on the other hand the unemployment rate hit a low not … Continued READ MORE
Brexit & trade· Economy and public finances· Economic growth Changing Lanes: The impact of different post-Brexit trading policies on the cost of living 17 October 2017 by Stephen Clarke and Ilona Serwicka and L. Alan Winters The issue of trade has returned to the frontline of British policy making and politics for the first time in 40 years, but little has been said about what the impact of changes in the UK’s trade regime could be on living standards. This paper aims to fill that gap by looking at what impact two “no deal” Brexit scenarios could have on prices and living standards. READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Get A Move On? The decline in regional job-to-job moves and its impact on productivity and pay 15 August 2017 by Stephen Clarke This briefing note looks at how economically-driven internal migration has changed in the UK over the past two decades. There has been a significant decline in the share of people moving region and employer since it reached a high at the turn of the millennium, partly this is cyclical, but it is also the result … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Inequality & poverty The living standards audit 2017 15 July 2017 by Adam Corlett and Daniel Tomlinson and Stephen Clarke In this report we provide the first comprehensive look at the living standards of UK households in the year leading up to the 2017 general election, as well as a detailed look at the trends in living standards over the previous two decades. The years since the financial crisis have been far from an easy … Continued READ MORE
Firms· Living standards· Productivity & industrial strategy· Cities and regions· Economic growth A rising tide lifts all boats? Advanced industries and their impact upon living standards 10 July 2017 by Stephen Clarke and Neil Lee Policy makers in Westminster, devolved administrations, cities and local authorities struggle with many of the same challenges. Encouraging economic growth is vital but so too is ensuring the prosperity created is evenly shared. After a long absence, industrial strategy is back on the agenda as a way of providing this inclusive growth. The cornerstone of … Continued READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay The RF Earnings Outlook Q1 2017 2 July 2017 by Stephen Clarke This Earnings Outlook looks at the first quarter of labour market data for 2017. This was a period when the pay squeeze returned with average weekly earnings falling by 0.4 per cent. This return is particularly unwelcome as average earnings are still 3.4 per cent below their pre-crisis peak. For Londoners and younger workers in … Continued READ MORE
Prices & consumption· Economy and public finances The going rate: moving from CPI to CPIH and the inflation experiences of UK households 20 March 2017 by Stephen Clarke The period of ultra-low inflation is over. CPI inflation is expected to rise above 2 per cent in the near future, eating into earnings and making benefits less generous. This coincides with a change in the way we measure those price rises, with a new main measure of inflation. On 21 March, CPIH will replace … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Are we nearly there yet? Spring Budget 2017 and the 15 year squeeze on family and public finances 9 March 2017 by Matthew Whittaker and Stephen Clarke and Adam Corlett and David Finch and Laura Gardiner and Kathleen Henehan and Daniel Tomlinson Resolution Foundation’s overnight briefing on the 2017 Spring Budget. READ MORE
