Whether they are a growing underclass or a sign of the UK economy’s bright future, the growing army of self-employed warrant our attention The UK workforce has expanded rapidly over the last year, with the working-age employment rate reaching historically high levels and net job creation of over 900,000 in the year to April 2014. … Continue reading
Austerity measures and the economic downturn in the UK have prompted the British branch of the Red Cross to begin formulating an emergency food aid plan for Britain – the first the charity has set up for the country since WWII Continue reading
A poll of Western countries has found that immigration is seen as a bigger problem in the UK than anywhere else Continue reading
According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of British citizens who have moved abroad has risen by a fifth under the Coalition, reaching 154,000 last year. Separate figures, published by the OECD, show that almost 1.3million Britons with university-level education are living abroad, more than any other developed economy. Nick de Bois, secretary … Continue reading
This report provides new evidence on whether employers in Britain are doing so and whether jobs are being upskilled. Continue reading
In the UK, almost a quarter of British people under the age of 30 who do not have secondary school qualifications such as five good GCSEs are neither employed, nor in education, or training, and known as “Neet” Continue reading
Study by Prudential finds many people are facing a bleak financial outlook, with 14% relying solely on state pension One in five people retiring in Britain in 2013 will fall below the income poverty line according to a study by Prudential, which also found that nearly a quarter of women will enter retirement entirely dependent … Continue reading
The number of people heading to Britain, less the number leaving, dropped significantly by 84,000 to 163,000 in the year to June, fuelled by a 17% drop in the number of foreign students arriving. Immigration to the UK fell from 589,000 to 515,000, its lowest since 2003, official figures from the Office for National Statistics … Continue reading
Britain faces a ‘living standards crisis’ as it was revealed that millions of families will never regain the losses they sustained during the financial crisis and recession. Average earnings have sunk to the level they were at 10 years ago as workers are squeezed by a toxic combination of pay freezes and hikes in the … Continue reading
“Britain is home to the greatest workforce in Europe. The Poles,” runs a favourite joke of comedian Jimmy Carr. But while immigration might make a good punchline, for many businesses the economic implications of who moves where have a clear effect on the bottom line. Britain has a record of welcoming immigrants, from M&S co-founder … Continue reading
In the darkest days of the financial crisis economists were predicting the unemployment toll would reach 3m. Thankfully, those fears never materialised, with joblessness peaking at around 2.7m. However, the side effect of containing the jobs figures well below 3m has resulted in swathes of people working part-time or reduced hours because they cannot find … Continue reading
Almost 5,200 university leavers sought employment in mainland Europe, the Far East and North America last year – up by 1,000 since the start of the economic crisis. Official figures show that graduates from the very best universities are significantly more likely to be tempted overseas, prompting fears that Britain’s most talented young people were … Continue reading
Britain’s graduates face an increasingly challenging jobs market, with 40% failing to get graduate-calibre posts more than two years after leaving education, around twice the proportion of their peers a decade earlier, according to a study of recent ex-students’ career paths. Overall, the vaunted graduate salary premium, a key argument in persuading would-be students to … Continue reading
The most unexpected figures recently were the big drops in the UK’s headline unemployment number and rate. However, the way the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports the numbers – as three-month rolling averages – doesn’t really help us understand what is happening. It turns out that this occurs because of concerns about the variability … Continue reading
“Big companies believe the UK’s economic recovery may depend on improving the balance between academic and vocational education” writes James Taylor in We need more investment in practical skills, say employers on managementtoday.co.uk. “87% of the large firms questioned by education services provider Pearson said the UK economic recovery was at risk without more investment … Continue reading