CPI fell to 3.2 per cent in November, from 3.6 per cent in October, beating market and Bank of England expectations for a smaller fall and all but guaranteeing another interest rate cut from the Bank tomorrow, according to the Resolution Foundation this morning (Wednesday). The 0.4 percentage point fall in CPI exceeded forecasts from … Continued

The UK labour market is ending the year with a whimper, with unemployment hitting 5.1 per cent and real pay packets levelling off, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). The number of payrolled jobs fell again in October and November (by 22,000 and 38,000) and has now fallen by 171,000 over the past 12 months. As a result, the Foundation’s employment rate estimate has … Continued

The fall in employment over both the past 12 months and the past five years is entirely accounted for by higher unemployment, not rising economic inactivity as many people assume, and young people are bearing the brunt of Britain’s jobs downturn, according to the Resolution Foundation’s latest Labour Market Outlook published today (Monday). Ahead of … Continued

The Government has a once-in-a-generation chance to improve the lives of England’s 1.5 million undervalued care workers through its new Fair Pay Agreement. But to succeed it will need to get it off the ground quickly, start small and give it teeth so that the higher standards it sets are properly enforced, according to new … Continued

Adult Disability Payments (ADP), which were introduced in Scotland in 2022 to replace Personal Independence Payments (PIP), show that it may be possible to implement a claimant-centred and dignified disability benefit system without significantly driving up costs and caseloads, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation published today (Monday). Delivering dignity? – funded by … Continued

The package of measures announced in the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy – including the abolition of the two-child limit on benefit support and an expanded Free School Meals offer – will result in child poverty rates falling in 2026-27, the first time in nine years (outside the pandemic), the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday). The … Continued

The announcement that the Government will amend the Employment Rights Bill – reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection from two years to six months, rather than scrapping altogether for a ‘day one’ right – is a sensible move that will speed up the delivery of improvements to working conditions and reduce the risk … Continued

The Chancellor delivered a far more upbeat Budget than many were expecting, with significant cost of living support and sensible, progressive measures that reduce some of the distortions in the tax system. But it was far from pain-free, with major tax rises and cuts to public services coming down the line, and a look behind … Continued

The Chancellor has moved decisively to ease cost of living pressures with welcome support on energy bills and for larger families. She has also increased her fiscal wiggle room, funded by the expected freeze in income tax thresholds and sensible reforms that help to level the playing field on personal taxes. But this backloaded Budget … Continued

The Energy Price Cap will unexpectedly rise by £3 a year in January, as a rise in the costs of government policies that are added to energy bills cancels out a small fall in the gas prices. This makes clear that more action is needed in the Budget to significantly cut bills, the Resolution Foundation … Continued

Devolving Council Tax support in 2013-14 has massively increased the amount of social security now being administered locally in England. But this change has caused acute and often arbitrary hardship for vulnerable families – illustrating the perils of passing responsibility for deep spending cuts onto local authorities – according to new research published today (Thursday). … Continued

While the fall in CPI to 3.6 per cent in October, from 3.8 in September, signals the start of a long drift down in inflation, the cost of living remains high meaning the Chancellor must act at the Budget, according to the Resolution Foundation this morning (Wednesday). This fall was largely in line with expectations, … Continued

Commenting on the latest rumours that the Chancellor is no longer planning to increase Income Tax rates in her upcoming Budget, following rumours last week that this would be the centrepiece of the Budget, Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “At the Budget the Chancellor needs to do three things: take decisive … Continued

The labour market is weakening on multiple fronts with the number of payrolled jobs falling by 64,000 in the past two months, short-term private sector pay growth falling to 2.7 per cent, and unemployment hitting 5 per cent for the first time (outside of the pandemic) since 2016, the Resolution Foundation said today. The number … Continued

Sir Charlie Mayfields’s report, published today (Wednesday), rightly frames Britain’s economic challenge of rising inactivity due to ill-health as being a matter for the world of work as well as the welfare system. The Government should now fast-track the Review’s recommendations, moving quickly from the initial ‘Vanguard’ phase to full deployment, according to the Resolution Foundation. The timely report confirms that rising ill-health and disability pose a genuine challenge to our labour market, our … Continued

The Chancellor should take decisive steps in her Budget to put the public finances in order and aim to double her level of headroom, while focusing on reducing prices, poverty and protecting payslips, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). The Foundation’s Autumn Budget 2025 preview notes that the widely anticipated downgrade to the UK’s ‘trend’ … Continued

Fully scrapping the two-child limit on benefits is an essential step towards achieving lower child poverty rates in 2029-30 than in 2024-25. No partial repeal of the policy is sufficient to keep child poverty rates from rising, according to new analysis from the Resolution Foundation today (Thursday). No half measures uses the latest economic data … Continued

Rapid rent increases since Local Housing Allowance has been frozen means the gap between the support low-income private tenants receive and the 30th percentile of local rents is already at 14 per cent (£104 a month for a typical two-bedroom property). This affordability gap is expected to reach a record 17 per cent next year, … Continued

Britain has continued to make progress on reducing the gender pay gap and the incidence of low pay in the past year, though overall pay growth has slowed in recent months, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE data, which was collected … Continued

Headline CPI inflation held steady at 3.8 per cent in September – defying expectations of a rise to 4 per cent – but this welcome surprise comes at the wrong time for the millions of households receiving benefits. The September inflation rate is used to determine benefit uprating the following April. As a result, this … Continued

The number of young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has risen by 195,000 over the past two years to reach 940,000. The most common reason for being NEET is unemployment, but the largest increase in recent decades has been amongst those inactive due to disability and ill-health, according … Continued

Delays in when people get their first job have driven a rise in the proportion of young people who have never worked, according to new Resolution Foundation research published later this week that will examine what is driving the number of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). The report finds … Continued

Moving energy and social policy costs off household electricity bills and onto general taxation would save the poorest fifth of households around £110 a year – net of tax increases to balance the books – with almost three-in-four households being better off overall, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Thursday). Splitting the bill … Continued

The weakening jobs market is finally affecting pay packets, with wage growth in the private sector slowing sharply over the summer, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The number of payrolled jobs was little changed in August with a small rise of 10,000 compared to July and … Continued

It would now take 52 years’ worth of typical earnings – £1.3 million in total – to move from the middle to the top of the wealth distribution, as wealth gaps continue to grow across Britain, according to new research from the Resolution Foundation, published today (Wednesday). Before the fall examines the scale and distribution … Continued