Employment
Unemployment rises… or does it?
Today’s job statistics are, as usual, mixed — and even a touch confusing. Last month, the headline was that the unemployment had risen to 2.56 million. This month, we’re told… Continue reading
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Has the jobs recovery stalled?
The number of people in work in December to February was 29.698 million — lower than last month’s 29.732 million and representing a very slight 2,000 quarter-on-quarter fall — according… Continue reading
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The workers united will never be defeated…
There’s a BBC website where you can find out what class you are, according to new criteria drawn up by some bloke at the LSE and a babe from Manchester… Continue reading
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The Creative Employment Programme: a genuine ‘what works’ policy
Around the country, a roadshow is taking place that could transform the way young people are employed in this country. Bear with me, we are about to enter the strange… Continue reading
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Another weird sacking
Another teacher has been sacked for what looks like a wholly fatuous and unjust reason; these stories come in at the rate of about two a week. Christopher Hammond, head… Continue reading
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Fag break Britain: four answers to Britain’s productivity puzzle
Jobs are being created in Britain, but the economy isn’t growing. In the last year, the number of people in work rose by 2 per cent, but economic output rose… Continue reading
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Good news on employment, but don’t expect it to keep coming
Today’s jobs figures are pretty unambiguously good news. The number of people in work rose by 154,000 in the last three months of 2012 to a new record high of… Continue reading
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Worst recovery in history: British GDP shrinks by 0.3 per cent
Now we know why David Cameron delivered his Europe speech on Wednesday. It’s time for bad headlines again: the GDP figures just announced show that the British economy is contracting… Continue reading
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Honda job losses should be put in perspective
News of 800 job losses at Honda’s Swindon factory are making the headlines — factory closures always do. They can leave scars that never quite heal, and for those affected… Continue reading
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The Dalkey Archive Press responds
Following my last post about the Dalkey Archive Press advert for unpaid interns I received an email from publisher John O’Brien. I think it sheds some interesting light on the… Continue reading
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Private sector growth pushes employment to new record high
The number of people in work in the UK hit 29.6 million in August-October – the most ever — according to today’s figures from the Office for National Statistics. So… Continue reading
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The Autumn Statement in 7 graphs
1. Growth evaporating. The Office for Budget Responsibility once again downgraded its growth forecasts for 2012-13 and, for the first time, also did so for 2014-16. Despite that, the OBR… Continue reading
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How to improve the Work Programme
Everyone who has been involved in the Work Programme has been warning ministers for some time that there were serious problems with this flagship policy. As this is the opposite… Continue reading
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Work programme figures disappoint
Today’s headline figures on the Work Programme are not good news for the government: in its first 12 months, only 2.3 per cent of participants actually landed sustainable employment against… Continue reading
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Justin Welby’s social conscience
One of the things we know about the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is that he doesn’t like bankers. Another is that he has given a good deal of… Continue reading
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Employment has recovered from the recession, but wages haven’t
Today’s employment figures don’t contain much new to shout about. The number of people in work — although it rose by 100,000 on the previous quarter — is actually down… Continue reading
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The Olympic effect on jobs
It seems today’s good jobs figures — employment at a record high and the unemployment rate back below 8 per cent — are at least partly thanks to the Olympic Games.… Continue reading
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Jobs figures show a move in the right direction
Recently, we’ve been used to the economic figures being either bad news or mixed news. So today’s employment stats come as a welcome surprise: it’s almost all good news. They show… Continue reading
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Employment returns to pre-crash levels
Employment has almost entirely recovered to its pre-recession peak, according to today’s new figures. Total employment for May to July stood at 29.56 million — up 236,000 on the previous… Continue reading
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America’s working women
We know that the growth of women in work has been a significant driver of household income growth in the UK over the last 50 years. In fact, children are… Continue reading
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