Labour market· Intergenerational Centre Welcome to adulthood, millennial 13 September 2018 by Laura Gardiner 2018 is the year in which the babies of the millennium reach adulthood. Back in January, this was mainly marked by existential online angst about how those born when Britney Spears’s ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ was in the charts are reaching legal drinking age. Today’s 18 in 2018 publication from the Office for National … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Pay Labour market statistics analysis: a tepid pay recovery is emerging 11 September 2018 by George Bangham The monthly labour market stats have followed a similar pattern for a while now; new employment records set, while pay continues to stagnate. Today’s figures haven’t quite followed the script. Take pay growth first. Nominal wage growth has nudged up to 2.9 per cent for only the second time since mid-2015, with real pay growth … Continued READ MORE
Bad Policies And The Benefits For Working In Berlin Over Boston Top of the Charts 7 September 2018 Afternoon all, It’s been an emotional week – separation anxiety, tears, tantrums and every parent’s worst fear – bullying in the playground. Yes, it’s been an emotional return to Westminster for our elected officials, and the school run’s back too. One of the features of modern politics is lots of depression about the inability for any … Continued READ MORE
Inequality & poverty· Cities and regions· Wealth & assets Regional wealth inequality: a nation divided 1 September 2018 by Conor D’Arcy On Monday, families across the country will be feeling a mix of excitement, anxiety and relief as kids go back to school (with Scotland having already gone through it). Experiences that unite every corner of the UK feel rarer these days, with talk of division and left-behind places common. Differences between South Shields and South … Continued READ MORE
Booze, sexists and massive misperceptions Top of the Charts 31 August 2018 Afternoon all, Welcome back to Top of the Charts – hope everyone’s had a good August and holidays/empty offices have refreshed reading appetites. I’ve enjoyed a glamorous drizzly break in Cornwall – the drizzle part of which I hold each and every one of you who moaned about the heatwave personally responsible. To cope with … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Tax Entrepreneurs’ Relief has cost £22 billion over the past 10 years. Was it worth it? 29 August 2018 by Adam Corlett The hunt is on for extra tax revenues. First came the announcement of an NHS funding boost, back in June. Now, the Chancellor has the harder task of working out where he will find the more than £20 billion required. Some is likely to come from higher borrowing, and better than expected public finance figures … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Skills The apprenticeship levy a year on: lessons learned 23 August 2018 by Kathleen Henehan This piece originally appeared on tes. With today’s headlines focused on the trials and tribulations of A-level results and university acceptances, you’d be forgiven for thinking that a majority of today’s 18-year-olds proceed directly from the school gates into the halls of higher education. Of course, they do not: over half of today’s 19-year-olds are engaged … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Full employment: we’re half way there 22 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke In early 2014 the then Chancellor, George Osborne committed to ‘fight for full employment’. At the time the employment rate (for those aged 16 – 64) was 72.9 per cent and the unemployment rate (for those over 16) 6.4 per cent. The Chancellor didn’t commit to a specific figure, but his goal was to have … Continued READ MORE
History lessons as May joins Macron in Brexit Love Island Top of the Charts 3 August 2018 Morning all, Britain faces some big challenges – but I bring news of significant progress. Love Island is over, fini, terminado. Praise be – it’s destroyed both productivity and conversation quality in RF towers. But don’t worry if you like nothing better than Brits flying off to awkwardly stay with people they hardly know in … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Pay· Skills Employers are offering a growing ‘disloyalty bonus’ – young people should take advantage 2 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke This piece was first published on i. First they took away the long-service awards: carriage clocks and gold watches; now they’re coming for your pay rises; loyalty no longer pays in UK firms. That’s the big takeaway from new Resolution Foundation research looking at what’s happening in the jobs market. In the late 1990s if … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Skills· Pay Spotlight: The growing ‘disloyalty bonus’ 2 August 2018 by Stephen Clarke Working out whether it’s worth waiting for Godot relies on a clear reading of what’s happening to wage growth. One factor that influences this is the changing composition of the workforce. In the short-run one of the big changes is that since 2012 the number of people employed in the UK has risen by 2.5 … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Prices & consumption Guest blog: When the ONS changes its mind, economic policy and political reputation are on the line 30 July 2018 by Dan Corry and Peter Kenway In these ‘post-expert’ times, it’s worth remembering that good policy rests on good evidence. Our fiscal and monetary institutions don’t just set policy with reference to economic theory, but in relation to what’s going on in the economy. So – as we heard earlier this week – when history gets re-written in a way that … Continued READ MORE
Economy and public finances Heatwaves, grannies and capitalism Top of the Charts 27 July 2018 Afternoon all, I don’t want to worry you – but I’m pretty sure this is what the end of days would look like. Tonight the moon is going to turn the colour of blood – which apparently we’re all meant to think is fun, rather than a sign of impending doom… And if that wasn’t … Continued READ MORE
Firms· Productivity & industrial strategy· Economy and public finances· Economic growth Time to concentrate on our capitalism 26 July 2018 by Torsten Bell and Daniel Tomlinson Our politicians are anxious. And not just because no-one has a decent poll lead or idea where Brexit will end up. No, some are finding the time to get anxious about other things too, including the state of capitalism in the UK. The angst isn’t limited to the left either, with Michael Gove becoming a … Continued READ MORE
Childcare· Inequality & poverty· Welfare A history lesson wouldn’t hurt – at least when it comes to child poverty 24 July 2018 by Torsten Bell and Adam Corlett This blog originally appeared on Times Red Box. A few years back there was an outbreak of national angst about no one studying history any more. The House of Lords even managed a debate on it. That worry seems a long way down the list of concerns these days, when everyone has the latest Donald … Continued READ MORE
Multi-jobbers, pay gaps and the hipster index Top of the Charts 20 July 2018 Afternoon all, Half the government seems to have quit (we’re on to people you’ve never heard of) and Labour MPs are getting in on the act. But MPs aren’t the only ones shedding jobs – this week’s reading brings confirmation that the idea ever more people are doing two or three jobs is a myth. … Continued READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances We’re all social democrats now 17 July 2018 by Torsten Bell It’s Super Tuesday on the fiscal policy front. Try not to get too excited. Today a lucky world gains not only the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Fiscal Sustainability Report (the ‘FSR’ looks ages over the next 50 years to ask: ‘how bust are we if we carry on as we are’) but also the Treasury’s … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Pay More good news today for low-income families, unless they want a pay rise 17 July 2018 by Stephen Clarke The Office for National Statistic’s monthly release of labour market statistics is an opportunity for economists and commentators to probe the state of the UK economy. Many Twitter characters have been spilt arguing if the figures presage faster wage growth, where employment may heading next, and what all this means for the Bank of England’s … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Migration The most biddable of them all? 16 July 2018 by Lindsay Judge This piece originally appeared on Times Red Box. Today’s headlines tell us once again that net migration from the EU to the UK is down significantly since the Brexit referendum, with record levels of emigration of EU citizens and a large drop in the number of people coming from the continent looking for work. In … Continued READ MORE
Burning injustices special edition Top of the Charts 13 July 2018 Morning all, Never mind a week, two minutes is a long time in politics these days. And two years is an eternity, so for Theresa May simply to have reached her second anniversary of taking up residence in Downing Street today is something of a triumph. Her speech on the steps of Downing Street the … Continued READ MORE
Bouncy floors, sticky ceilings and why you should watch what you search for Top of the Charts 6 July 2018 Afternoon all, It’s the knockout stage. In or out. The tension is unbearable. Or just mildly irritating depending on your degree of perspective…. Today’s Brexit showdown at Chequers is set to expose splits in the government and country, but tomorrow’s England game will bring us all back together so it’ll all be fine – right? … Continued READ MORE
Labour market When algorithms go to war in the workplace Businesses crunch data to gain power; workers should bend it to their own ambitions 2 July 2018 by Gavin Kelly One constant in public debate is the assertion that the world of work is on the cusp of unprecedented change. Amid the hype, one genuine source of flux is the manner in which data and technology are combining to alter workplace management and control. To date, this has been a tale of the good, the … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Cities and regions Tackling London’s living standards exodus 2 July 2018 by Conor D’Arcy Everyone knows housing is a disaster in London. This is most obvious in the ludicrous prices that properties fetch, but London’s housing problems stretch well beyond having to fork out over half a million pounds for a poky flat in Zone 2. For a start, the way people are housed in London has changed dramatically … Continued READ MORE
Hype, hubris and a solution to England’s penalty shoot-out woes Top of the Charts 29 June 2018 Afternoon all, Everyone being a bit rubbish has made this quite a good World Cup so far. Unfortunately it hasn’t had quite the same effect on British politics as the “no-one really has a Brexit plan” roadshow rolls on – but here’s hoping. After all things will only get tougher when facing Boris, Gavin and … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Productivity & industrial strategy· Cities and regions Poor productivity and high housing costs are driving a ‘living standards exodus’ from London 27 June 2018 by Stephen Clarke As a Londoner it’s fair to say that as a city we’re quite good at giving ourselves a pat on the back (though apparently self-loathing Londoners are a thing too). It’s often suggested that London is an economic powerhouse, productive, innovative and leaving the rest of the country in its wake. However new research by … Continued READ MORE
