Jobs
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
12 Comments
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
8 Comments
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
30 Comments
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
91 Comments
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
67 Comments
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
6 Comments
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
25 Comments
The great City of London exodus gathers pace
Why not tax the bejesus out of the City and tighten regulation? Yes, the bankers will moan — but it’s not as if they will go abroad. The tax rate… Continue reading
56 Comments
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
21 Comments
Osborne pushes upbeat message on economy
George Osborne gave a speech to a CBI dinner in Glasgow last night. It wasn’t the ideal day to do it: the OECD did downgrade its growth forecasts for Britain… Continue reading
31 Comments
Cameron should be proud of jobs rise
David Cameron said in Prime Minister’s Questions today that there have been 800,000 more private sector jobs under his government. This is almost true, and — I thought — worthy… Continue reading
36 Comments
How not to create jobs
The Keynes vs Hayek debate is at its sharpest on the issue of employment. Can government create jobs (as Balls says)? Or does large public sector employment simply displace economic… Continue reading
64 Comments
A part-time recovery
Today’s jobs figures show a 105,000 rise in employment and a 45,000 fall in unemployment, from the final quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012. Welcome news, although… Continue reading
9 Comments
Unemployment is down but are prospects up?
The government has fallen on today’s numbers showing employment up by 53,000 and youth unemployment down by 9,000. This is the first quarterly fall in unemployment for over a year.… Continue reading
23 CommentsLabour miss out the details
Labour’s launch of its new youth jobs policy has been rather overshadowed by Harriet Harman’s inability to explain the costing behind the policy on the Daily Politics earlier: not a… Continue reading
28 Comments
Unemployment’s high, but at least it’s stopped rising
So, new jobs figures out today. Which do you want first: the bad news, or the kind-of-alright news? The bad news is that employment’s showing no signs of growth: the… Continue reading
11 Comments
Graduates struggling to get graduate jobs
Today’s ONS release will make pretty grim reading for students and recent graduates. It shows that the unemployment rate among recent graduates — those who graduated in the last six… Continue reading
22 Comments
Transcript: Grayling on work experience
On the Today Programme this morning, Employment Minister Chris Grayling defended the government’s Work Experience programme in light of the recent controversies around it. Here’s a full transcript of the… Continue reading
28 Comments
Grayling mounts a robust defence
The Work Experience scheme is a sensible policy innovation. Giving the unemployed structure to their days, the chance to earn some experience and learn some skills is surely preferable to… Continue reading
12 Comments
IDS defends his work scheme — but he may have to change it
Articles by politicians are often flat and passionless. Not so Iain Duncan Smith’s effort for the Daily Mail today. The welfare secretary sets about defending the government’s Work Experience scheme… Continue reading
16 Comments