Pay and wages
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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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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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
A bad bargain: we should give up nationwide pay bargaining
Imagine what would happen to the Greek economy if a European trade union managed to secure the same salaries for Greece’s public employees as for their German counterparts. If that… 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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Making the loan companies pay
Will Parliament soon decide to clamp down on payday loans? The controversial firms, offering ultra-high interest short-term loans, have proliferated on high streets and across the Web, utilising crafty advertising to make… Continue reading
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Regional pay: a new coalition divide
As if Lords reform, communications surveillance powers and same-sex marriage weren’t enough, it looks like there’s another issue that’ll cause a good deal of friction between Liberal Democrat and Conservative… Continue reading
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A significant moment for the minimum wage
Here are some numbers for you: the adult rate of the national minimum wage will be raised, this October, by 11p to £6.19 an hour, but the separate rates for… Continue reading
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Cable teaches Umunna a lesson about the past
If you were in a particularly soggy mood, you’d almost feel sorry for Chuka Umunna. He’d managed to force Vince Cable into the House this afternoon, to announce the coalition’s… Continue reading
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Inflation at 4.2 per cent is nothing to cheer
Are today’s inflation figures cause for celebration? The Consumer Price Index rose a mere 4.2 per cent in the year to December, down from 4.8 per cent in November. So,… Continue reading
44 Comments
Balls’ attempt at credibility falls short
‘I must be responsible and credible in what I say.’ No, it’s not Bart Simpson writing on the blackboard at the start of The Simpsons, although it may have been… Continue reading
31 CommentsThe unions’ pension myths
This morning I debated the President of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers live on Sky News. It was incredible how few answers she had when confronted with the facts… Continue reading
30 CommentsYour Autumn Statement check-list
I very much doubt today’s Pre-Budget Report will be memorable; a shame, given the circumstances. The supplementary Office for Budget Responsibility document will be more interesting — and relevant to… Continue reading
9 CommentsTalkin’ ’bout long-term stagnation
Politics is often a messy squiggle, but this morning’s Resolution Foundation event did much to reduce it to a binary choice. Do we follow the US into a decades-long stagnancy… Continue reading
8 CommentsAre we facing an American nightmare?
With the Chancellor’s autumn statement due next Tuesday, we’re all talking about growth. The ECB and Bank of England now say the UK economy is set to grow at less… Continue reading
19 CommentsTime to scrap the minimum wage?
Today’s youth unemployment figures are simply appalling. It’s now 21 per cent amongst the under-25s, above the peak of 18 per cent seen under the 1990s recession. For the first… Continue reading
65 CommentsThe Lib Dems’ war on wealth
Vince Cable will address the Liberal Democrat conference later on today. Tim Farron’s indulgent speech yesterday is a tough act to follow, but Cable has chosen a subject to titillate… Continue reading
23 CommentsDon’t dismiss Davies out of hand
Touchpaper, meet match. That’s the explosive situation engendered by Tory MP Philip Davies and his comments about disabled people this afternoon. His suggestion, made in the Commons, was that disabled… Continue reading
70 CommentsInflation: cock-up, not conspiracy
Britain has the worst inflation in Western Europe; this is today’s story. CPI is 4.5 per cent and RPI is 5.2 per cent. This masks even worse rises which, as… Continue reading
41 Comments