RESOLUTION FOUNDATION REACTION TO CONTINUED EARNINGS SQUEEZE

12th June 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 342.8 KB

The squeeze on earnings has entered its 40th straight month, independent think tank the Resolution Foundation said today.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that Average Weekly Earnings (excluding bonuses) grew by 0.9 per cent between February and April compared to a year ago and now stand at £447 a week. The increase is well

UK JOBS RECOVERY DRIFTS FURTHER AWAY

28th May 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 386.3 KB

The prospects of a full recovery in employment are weakening as the pace of job creation slows, according to new analysis from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. Even under the most optimistic assumptions it will now be more than four years before the UK restores the employment rate of 2008—with central projections suggesting a recovery will take far longer. The figures temper the view that the UK jobs market is rebounding strongly, suggesting that it is now all but certain that the current jobs recovery will take longer than that following either the 1980s or 1990s recessions.

‘AGE BLIND’ APPROACH OF UNIVERSAL CREDIT RISKS MISSING OPPORTUNITY OF OLDER WORKERS

28th May 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 334.1 KB

Britain is missing a crucial opportunity to encourage more older people into work because the government’s new flagship welfare reform delivers only mixed benefits for the age group warns a new study from independent think tank the Resolution Foundation.

While many older workers will be better off under Universal Credit (UC) – the system replacing tax credits and several other benefits from this year - others will see their financial incentives to work sharply reduced. In the most severe case, someone aged over 60 and earning £7 an hour could see their annual income from work fall by £1,640 – from £9,120 to £7,480.

The change results from the fact that UC abolishes the ‘hours rules’ that exist in tax credits, smoothing out the support people receive as they take on more hours of work. This change has different effects for different family types but in general it benefits people who work a small numbers of hours and reduces support for those working more hours.

A QUARTER OF LOWER-INCOME WORKING FAMILIES SPEND MORE THAN THEY CAN AFFORD ON HOUSING

16th May 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 311.4 KB

At least 1.3 million families on lower incomes have to spend more than they can reasonably afford on housing the Resolution Foundation reveals today.

The figure represents almost one in four of the 5.6 million low-to-middle income households of working age in Britain. At a time when a severe shortage in property supply is pushing up both prices and rents, housing costs eat up more than 35 per cent of their net income – the most widely-accepted definition of affordability in housing. Even the most modest properties are often beyond their reach.

PLUMMETING PAY TAKES AVERAGE WAGES BACK TO THE MILLENNIUM

15th May 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 362.9 KB

Average wages are now back to a level last seen in November 2000, adjusting for inflation, according to new analysis by independent think tank the Resolution Foundation. The finding comes as official figures show earnings growth at a record low for the second month in succession. The bad news on wages, combined with another set of relatively weak employment data, means a double blow for living standards.

Today’s labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that average weekly wages (excluding bonuses) grew at just 0.8 per cent (comparing January to March 2013 with the same period a year ago)  – well below either the RPI inflation rate of 3.3 per cent or CPI inflation of 2.8 per cent.

BRITAIN DIVIDED OVER WHETHER FUTURE GROWTH WILL IMPROVE LIVING STANDARDS

29th April 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 425.8 KB

The electorate is broadly split over whether, come the next general election, it will still be possible for the government of the day to ensure steadily rising living standards, according to a new polling report for the Resolution Foundation. The analysis, “2015- the living standards election?”, gives a unique insight into what voters think that politicians can – and can’t – promise to achieve at the next election.

The research carried out for the Resolution Foundation by YouGov shows that exactly half the public think that, with the right policies, overall economic growth should still result in rising family living standards. However a large minority (35 per cent) think this is now beyond the ability of governments to achieve and the most they can be expected to secure is a stable economy and sound public finances.

Nearly half of Britons expect a further drop in living standards by the next general election

24th April 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 276.4 KB

Almost half the British public expect to be worse off by the time of the next election in 2015 than they are now, reveals a major new polling project from the Resolution Foundation. In addition, much of the electorate is expecting the rest of this decade to be characterised by slow growth with more than one in three people thinking it will take four or five years for the economy to recover fully from recession, almost one in three thinking it will take between six and 10 years and almost one in six thinking either that it will take more than a decade or will never happen.

The poll, conducted as part of a wider study on “2015 - the living standards election” by YouGov for the Resolution Foundation, found that 46 per cent believe their living standards will fall over the next two years. Only one in five (19 per cent) think they will improve, while just over one in four (28 per cent) expect no change. The figures come a day before the release of official estimates of Britain’s GDP in the first quarter of 2013, which – if they show negative growth – would mean the country has entered a ‘triple dip’ recession.

In the new Resolution Foundation poll, Labour supporters, older voters and people on lower incomes are most pessimistic about their prospects.

The jobs gap is widening while wages are falling

17th April 2013 | File type: PDF | Size 480.0 KB

Today’s jobs figures show growth in the number of people in employment has come to a halt – there has now been no increase in the number of people working since September-November 2012.

However, the Resolution Foundation’s analysis reveals that the true picture is worse than this because the UK needs to create enough jobs to keep up with population growth just in order to stand still.