Commenting on the Chancellor’s announcement today (Wednesday) that Autumn Budget 2025 will be held on Wednesday 26th November, Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Chancellor has officially fired the starting pistol on the countdown to one of the toughest second Budgets in living memory. “With higher gilt yields currently adding over … Continued

Despite recent challenges with the official Labour Force Survey (LFS), the recent rise in the unemployment rate (0.6 percentage points since January 2024, or equivalent to 258,000 people) appears to be accurate, and there may be further labour market loosening to come, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation today (Friday). The Labour Market … Continued

Private rent rises continue to outpace earnings, as they have now for 21 months running, creating a rent affordability wedge of almost £720 a year, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday), in response to the latest ONS private rents data. Over the longer term, private rents continue to closely track earnings. Rents and earnings both … Continued

CPI inflation jumped 0.2 percentage points to reach 3.8 per cent in July. Worryingly, the rise was driven by the higher cost of essentials with faster price rises for energy (rising from 4.5 per cent in June to 8 per cent in July), petrol (up by 2p per litre in July) and food (4.5 per … Continued

GDP growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in Q2 2025 – a stronger performance than both market expectations and the Bank of England’s forecast last week. But the good news will not avoid a deep fiscal bind for the Chancellor at her Autumn Budget, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the latest ONS GDP data. The … Continued

The UK labour market continued to weaken – shedding a further 8,000 jobs in June, and 165,000 since its recent peak last October, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The weakening of the jobs market is laid bare both in RTI payroll data – in which … Continued

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee delivered a widely expected rate cut, but more significant was the updated forecasts showing the Bank remains downbeat about medium-term growth, suggesting Rachel Reeves will have to raise taxes to keep to her fiscal rules, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). While other major central banks have put … Continued

The Government must use the £13 billion assigned to its Warm Homes Plan to deliver energy bill savings – worth £230 per year on average for the poorest households in leaky homes – while using other tools, such as regulations, to keep the decarbonisation of home heating on track, new research published today (Thursday) by … Continued

The Government has chosen to raise the adult minimum wage (the National Living Wage) in line with average earnings growth in 2026, in a repeat of last year’s cautious approach, although it has signalled it may adopt a more ambitious approach later in the parliament, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). Today, the Government published … Continued

The UK Government will struggle to achieve an 80 per cent employment rate unless it further incentivises firms to employ disabled workers – via return-to-work recruitment incentives and a new Right to Reintegration – according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report Opening Doors notes that while the headline employment … Continued

The new Pensions Commission should complete the achievements of the original Pensions Commission by both boosting future generations’ living standards in retirement and taking on the equally pressing ‘rainy day’ savings challenge people face today, the Resolution Foundation said today (Monday). The original Pensions Commission, which reported back in November 2005, has already transformed living … Continued

The UK jobs market continues to weaken, with the number of payrolled jobs having fallen by 143,000 since last October, while RF analysis suggests the employment rate has been falling for two years, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday). The number of people in payrolled employment fell by 75,000 in the three months to May, … Continued

Rising levels of disability and unpaid care are concentrated in the poorer half of Britain, and action is needed to both level up the value of unpaid care and reduce the £3,300 income penalty these families face, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). Don’t forget about us – the fifth report of … Continued

Growth in private rents continued its recent slowdown, with rents rising by 6.7 per cent in the year to June 2025, down from 7 per cent seen in the year to May. However, rents have still grown far faster than wages over the past three years and created an affordability wedge for renters as a … Continued

CPI inflation exceeded expectations to reach an eighteen-month high of 3.6 per cent in June – 0.2 percentage points higher than expected – while forecasts from the Bank of England have inflation rising further in the autumn, continuing to weigh down on lower-income households struggling to cope with higher prices, according to the Resolution Foundation … Continued

A record 128,000 households are living in temporary accommodation in England, an increase of 160 per cent since 2010, as support for lower-income families through social housing and the benefit system continues to decline, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Friday). With the creation of decent affordable homes being one of the Government’s … Continued

The Employment Rights Bill making its way through Parliament is a big deal for low-paid workers, but will have a negligible impact on the economy, contrary to what its supporters and critics claim, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Thursday). With the share of (hourly) low paid workers across Britain having fallen from … Continued

Rising energy prices over the last two decades have squeezed incomes for low-and-middle income families and contributed to a ‘comfort crunch’ as more of their budgets are spent on household essentials, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Monday). The Bare Necessities – the fourth report of the Foundation’s Unsung Britain project, with support … Continued

The changes to the Welfare Bill set out today will create a two-tier system to prevent existing claimants from suffering income losses as a result of changes to Universal Credit (UC) and Personal Independent Payments (PIP). These changes are welcome, but could cost between £2.6 billion and £3.2 billion a year in 2029-30 – making … Continued

The outlook for living standards across Britain is bleak, with typical incomes on track to grow by just 1 per cent (£300) over the second half of the decade. But a fair economic tailwind and the right policy interventions can transform this outlook – turning a period of falling incomes for poorer families into one … Continued

Moving away from the Ofgem fixed price cap and towards a flexible system of energy pricing – where costs vary according to region and time of day – could reduce the price of electricity by 4p/kWh by 2040, offering households savings of £200 a year, on average. But this approach also means families taking on … Continued

Industrial Strategy White Paper demonstrates serious thinking about growth – but it will need sticking power to deliver growth The Industrial Strategy White Paper, published today (Monday), is a serious attempt to think about long-term economic strategy, and is both cross-departmental and backed by the Treasury, all of which will be needed if it is … Continued

England’s stark regional wage inequalities are driven by the places where people work, and not just by the people who work in different places as earlier studies have suggested, which should prompt a rethink about how policy makers can address these divides, according to ground-breaking new research published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. The … Continued

While CPI inflation remained unchanged at a corrected rate of 3.4 per cent in May, recent increases in energy prices arising from conflict in the Middle East mean renewed price pressures are set to hit struggling low-income households in the coming months, according to the Resolution Foundation today (Wednesday). The headline rate of CPI inflation … Continued

The British state is slowly turning into a National Health State, with half of all public-service spending set to allocated to health and social care by the end of the decade, according to the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of Spending Review 2025. Key findings from the overnight analysis, which show that the other big winners … Continued