Pensions & savings· Labour market The self-employed and pensions 26 May 2015 by Conor D’Arcy The UK’s self-employed populace is now 4.5 million strong. Although there has been a modest fall in their numbers of late after years of rising, the self-employed look set to continue being a larger part of the workforce than in recent decades. While much has been made of their poor earnings performance relative to employees, … Continued READ MORE
Pay Securing a pay rise: The path back to shared wage growth 25 March 2015 by Conor D’Arcy and Gavin Kelly After the longest fall in modern history, real wages have moved into positive terrain and appear to be turning the corner. Yet the outlook for wages – how strong and shared pay growth might be in the years ahead – remains highly uncertain. What emerges will shape not just what happens to living standards but … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Looking through the hourglass: hollowing out of the UK jobs market pre- and post-crisis 23 March 2015 by Laura Gardiner and Adam Corlett A large and growing body of research details the ‘hollowing out’ of developed labour markets (the relative decline of mid-skilled jobs and expansion of low- and high-skilled jobs) from the 1970s to the 2008-09 recession. Previous Resolution Foundation research (Plunkett & Pessoa, 2013) confirmed that these trends continued in the UK in the early years of … Continued READ MORE
Living standards Time to catch up? Living standards in the downturn and recovery 12 March 2015 by Matthew Whittaker width=”476″ height=”400″ frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no”> READ MORE
Pay Who’s been getting a pay rise? 12 March 2015 by Laura Gardiner In this briefing we have attempted to provide some clarity on the recent debate – which has been a prominent feature of public narrative on the labour market – on the extent to which employees who remain in their jobs from one year to the next have experienced real pay rises. We have described the … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Credit where it’s due? Assessing the benefits and risks of Universal Credit 9 March 2015 by David Finch and Vidhya Alakeson and Mike Brewer The government’s plans for Universal Credit (UC) were first set out in November 2010, and its concept has received broad cross-party support. But the process of implementation has been dogged by a series of delays – the OBR now anticipates that it will not be fully rolled out until at least 2020, potentially 3 years … Continued READ MORE
Social care· Pay· Living Wage As if we cared: the costs and benefits of a living wage for social care workers 3 March 2015 by Laura Gardiner and Dr Shereen Hussein This report is the culmination of a year-long investigation into pay and conditions in social care, and the first authoritative study of the costs and benefits of moving to a living wage for all care workers. The report argues that pervasive low pay across the sector and tight budget constraints facing care providers means that paying … Continued READ MORE
Social care· Low pay· Pay The scale of minimum wage underpayment in social care 9 February 2015 by Laura Gardiner There is increasing recognition that a better deal for the workforce will be essential to the quality and sustainability of social care provision in the UK, but so far there has been scant evidence as to the scale of investment needed. The Resolution Foundation is currently undertaking a major investigation into the costs of improving … Continued READ MORE
Housing The Home Stretch: coping with high housing costs 8 December 2014 by Laura Gardiner and Vidhya Alakeson Despite the strain that high housing costs cause, millions of people on modest incomes continue to live in high cost areas and are somehow coping. The Resolution Foundation report explores six ‘coping strategies’ – working more, increasing the term of a mortgage, getting help from friends and family, over-crowding, lowering standards and doubling up. It … Continued READ MORE
Tax Missing the target: tax cuts and low to middle income Britain 1 December 2014 by Adam Corlett and Matthew Whittaker and Gavin Kelly This report has two main objectives. First, to assess the main political parties’ leading proposals on tax cuts for the next Parliament. Second, to consider whether there is a different approach to that advocated by the main parties that would better serve low and middle income Britain. READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances In the balance: public finances in the next parliament 25 November 2014 by Matthew Whittaker and Adam Corlett With the Coalition government expected to have delivered around half of its intended fiscal consolidation programme by the end of the current parliament, debates over public finances are set to loom large in the coming election campaign. To date, we have only very broad outlines of the preferred approaches of each of the main parties. … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Low pay· Pay Escape Plan: Understanding who progresses from low pay and who gets stuck 11 November 2014 by Conor D’Arcy and Alex Hurrell Our findings highlight that employees can move into higher paying roles but escaping completely from low pay is more difficult. Overall, the evidence presented in the report suggests that employers and government do have scope to develop the progression prospects of low paid staff. While much is already being done, there are particular groups of people … Continued READ MORE
Pay Why 2014 hasn’t been the year of the pay rise 7 November 2014 by Matthew Whittaker and Laura Gardiner A downward shift in the mix of occupations across the workforce towards lower-paying cleaning and caring roles, along with a welcome return of younger and less experienced workers to the labour market, has prevented 2014 from being the year of the pay rise, as many economists predicted. This analysis looks at the impact of changes … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Low Pay Britain 2014 30 October 2014 by Adam Corlett and Matthew Whittaker This report is our fourth annual audit of low pay in Britain. It describes in detail the scale of the problem in the latest year for which data is available (2013) and the people it affects. As with many advanced economies, the British labour market has been characterised in recent decades by a growing polarisation. … Continued READ MORE
Low pay· Pay Turning Point? The minimum wage in 2014 and beyond 1 October 2014 by Matthew Whittaker and Adam Corlett With the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rising on October 1st, this briefing note provides some background by setting out the evolution of the wage since its introduction in April 1999. It looks at the rate’s real value over the intervening period, and its relationship with median pay. It also considers the number of people affected by the NMW … Continued READ MORE
Welfare Universal Credit: A policy under review 9 September 2014 by David Finch and Adam Corlett and Vidhya Alakeson Resolution Foundation has brought together an expert panel of labour market economists, welfare specialists, employment practitioners and other experts to review the current design of Universal Credit and its likely impacts and propose changes that would make the policy more likely to support people to get into and progress in work. The cumulative impact of … Continued READ MORE
Housing More than a roof: How incentives can improve standards in the private rented sector 1 September 2014 The private rented sector is growing and, as it expands, it is housing an increasingly diverse group of tenants, including a higher proportion of people across every income decile and a growing number of families with children. However there are still a range of challenges associated with the sector which need to be addressed. These include variable standards of … Continued READ MORE
Childcare· Welfare World Class: What does international evidence tell us about improving quality, access and affordability in the English childcare market 28 August 2014 by Kitty Stewart and Ludovica Gambaro A new Resolution Foundation report by leading childcare experts, Kitty Stewart of the LSE and Ludovica Gambaro of the Institute of Education, sets out a path for reform for the UK, offering the best ideas from abroad. Central to getting greater value for the £5.5 billion we already invest in childcare as well as future … Continued READ MORE
Housing Housing pinched: Understanding which households spend the most on housing costs 14 August 2014 by Laura Gardiner Close to 1.6 million UK households – the housing pinched – are spending more than half their disposable income on the ongoing costs of housing each month. Not all households spending more than one third of their income on housing (the threshold at which people are far more likely to find making housing payments difficult) … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets Hangover Cure: Dealing with the household debt overhang as interest rates rise 24 July 2014 by Matthew Whittaker and Katie Blacklock The UK is entering a period in which interest rates are expected to start rising again – with the first moves potentially coming later this year – having insufficiently dealt with the debt overhang. This leaves the UK economy vulnerable to even modest increases in interest rates. Deconstructing the debt overhang will not be costless, but it is in everyone’s interests – borrowers, lenders, government and taxpayers alike – to adopt a pro-active measured approach rather than simply allowing it to collapse. We favour an orderly and managed dismantling of the debt overhang. This report sets out a series of recommendations for lenders, borrowers and policy-makers to make that happen. READ MORE
Labour market· Pay All accounted for: The case for an ‘all-worker’ earnings measure 9 July 2014 by Laura Gardiner The measures that we use to track earnings miss out the one in seven workers who is self-employed. Given continually rising self-employment and our knowledge that their earnings have taken a big hit in recent years, this briefing estimates what our most regular measure of earnings would look like with the self-employed included. Our more … Continued READ MORE
Household debt· Wealth & assets· Housing Mortgaged Future: Modelling household debt affordability and access to re-financing as interest rates rise 20 May 2014 by Matthew Whittaker One in ten of today’s mortgagors risk being imprisoned by borrowing deals which are likely to make their repayments unaffordable as interest rates rise over the next four years. Around 770,000 households are both at risk of being ‘mortgage prisoners’ due to a limited ability to switch to better mortgage deals and therefore insulate themselves against future rate rises, and at risk of being ‘highly geared’ where monthly mortgage repayments are eating up at least one third of their disposable income by 2018. READ MORE
Labour market Just the Job or a Working Compromise? The changing nature of self-employment 6 May 2014 by Conor D’Arcy and Laura Gardiner The growth of self-employment has become one of the stories of the recovery. While the share of total UK employment accounted for by self-employment has risen for decades, bucking the trend internationally, its pace has accelerated since 2008. And while the number of employee jobs has only recently regained its pre-recession level, the number of … Continued READ MORE
Labour market enforcement· Labour market Zero-Hours Contracts: The latest figures and analysis 30 April 2014 by Laura Gardiner Workers on zero-hours contracts are much more likely to be underemployed, to be looking for another job, and to be without union membership than staff on conventional contracts. Almost three in 10 of all those on zero-hours contracts (29 per cent) are looking to work more hours – either in their current job or by … Continued READ MORE
Labour market enforcement· Labour market Zeroing In 25 March 2014 by Vidhya Alakeson and Conor D’Arcy The use of zero hours contracts should be reformed to ensure that flexibility can be maintained and workers’ rights strengthened to help eradicate misuse. This report makes a number of recommendations that respond to these concerns and seek to strike a better balance, providing protection and choice for workers while ensuring flexibility is maintained for … Continued READ MORE
