Universal Credit (UC) has passed its first test of the crisis by coping with an unprecedented surge in demand, but tougher challenges lie ahead in protecting family incomes and helping people back into work, according to a major new report published today (Wednesday). The report, supported by The Standard Life Foundation, considers how UC has … Continued

Government borrowing reached £62.1 billion in April – the highest monthly figure since records began in 1993, and as much as the whole of last year (£62.7bn between April 2019-March 2020) – highlighting the stark fiscal cost of the coronavirus crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday) in response to the latest ONS public finance figures. … Continued

The Top 1 per cent received a far greater, and faster growing, share of the nation’s income pre-crisis than previously thought, if capital gains are included in official statistics, according to major new research published today (Thursday). The research – a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation, LSE and CAGE Research Centre at the University of … Continued

The number of employees fell by 450,000 in April, while vacancies crashed by around 50 per cent, giving an early indication of the scale of the jobs crisis Britain is currently experiencing, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS figures published this morning. Flash estimates from HMRC’s PAYE real-time information … Continued

Over one in three 18-24 year olds, and three in ten workers in their early 60s, are receiving less pay than they did at the start of the year, compared to less than a quarter of workers aged 35-49, according to new Resolution Foundation published today (Tuesday). The report, Young workers in the coronavirus crisis, … Continued

30 per cent of Britain’s lowest-paid employees have either been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether, according to a new Resolution Foundation report published today (Saturday). The report, The effects of the coronavirus crisis on workers, based on a survey of 6,005 UK adults and supported by the Health Foundation, examines how the current economic … Continued

GDP fell by 2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, its sharpest contraction since the peak of the financial crisis (Q4 2008), giving an ominous early indication of the scale of the economic hit the UK is currently experiencing the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the latest ONS GDP figures. … Continued

The Chancellor has made the right call in announcing a four-month extension to the Job Retention Scheme, opening it up to ‘partial furloughing’, and asking firms to contribute to the scheme instead of reducing support for workers, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday). Torsten Bell, Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The Job Retention … Continued

The Government should reject calls for a rapid ending of its Job Retention Scheme (JRS), and instead set out plans for a gradual phasing out, with the timing dependent on the lifting of lockdown restrictions, according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Tuesday). The report – Getting Britain working (safely) again – says the … Continued

The Bank of England’s first official take on the economic impact of coronavirus suggests that Britain is in the midst of the biggest economic contraction in over 300 years, and that even a rapid recovery will leave a longer-term legacy of high unemployment, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the Bank’s Monetary … Continued

The current economic crisis risks pushing an additional 600,000 18-24-year-olds into unemployment in the coming year – and causing long-term damage to their pay and job prospects unless major new support is provided ­– according to new Resolution Foundation research published today (Wednesday). With evidence from previous recessions showing that young people who’ve just left … Continued

New figures announced today (Monday) by HMRC that 6.3 million workers have been furloughed since the Job Retention Scheme opened on 20 April, and new DWP figures showing that 1.8 million Universal Credit claims have been made between 16 March and the end of April (along with 250,000 claims for Jobseekers’ Allowance), show that Britain … Continued

Working women are most likely to be bearing the health risks from coronavirus by being key workers, while young people and the low-paid are most likely to work in sectors of the economy that have been shutdown, according to a new report published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation. While the current economic crisis is … Continued

The Government is seeking to raise £225 billion over the four months from April to July through issuing gilts, highlighting the stark nature of the Government’s financing needs amid the current crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to new a HM Treasury announcement on gilt issuance and the ONS’ public finances data … Continued

Over 1.7 million individuals have begun Universal Credit claims since the Government advised against all but essential contact and travel in March – just weeks after the country recorded a new record–high employment rate – the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest labour market figures and new Universal Credit claimant numbers released this morning. The latest data on the UK … Continued

The Government must take further radical policy steps to strengthen its economic response to coronavirus amid huge uncertainty over the length of the outbreak, and the economic and fiscal costs entailed, according to a new report published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report – Doing more of what it takes – draws on evidence from … Continued

Coronavirus is on course to deliver the biggest annual fall in GDP since the 1700s and the highest borrowing since the Second World War, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) latest economic outlook. The projected quarterly GDP fall of 35 per cent in the second quarter … Continued

Commenting on reports today (Thursday) that 250,000 people have made a Universal Credit (UC) claim in the past week – half the 475,000 a week average over the previous fortnight, but still three times the 82,000 a week average recorded for Jobseeker’s Allowance at the peak during the financial crisis, Karl Handscomb, Senior Economist at … Continued

Families living in private rented accommodation are more exposed to the current economic shock than homeowners, and could face big rent shortfalls if they lose their jobs despite welcome government support, according to the Resolution Foundation’s latest Housing Outlook published today (Thursday). The Housing Outlook examines the impact of the current economic shock on families … Continued

The Government must get Universal Credit ‘battle ready’ for the UK’s growing unemployment crisis by encouraging more people to claim, extending eligibility to more middle-income households, getting more advance payments out to those who desperately need them, and publishing real time data on what support is getting through, according to a new Resolution Foundation briefing … Continued

The upcoming increase in the National Living Wage (NLW), which is due to rise to £8.72 an hour on 1 April, should be delayed by six months to help firms in low-paying sectors at the heart of the economic crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Saturday) in its latest Earnings Outlook. The Earnings Outlook explores … Continued

New measures announced by the Chancellor today (Thursday) will provide significant grants to the self-employed, going beyond the estimated 1.7 million self-employed workers who face major income losses as a result of the government’s lockdown, but exclude those on high incomes or who own their own firm, the Resolution Foundation says. The Chancellor’s announcement of … Continued

Typical UK household incomes stagnated last year and living standards for low income households are lower than they were in 2014-15, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics. Median incomes were unchanged in 2018-19 after housing costs are taken into account, leaving them below the level seen … Continued

The 477,000 increase in new Universal Credit (UC) claims over the past nine days shows that the country is already in the midst of an unemployment crisis that is building much faster than during the financial crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the disclosure of new figures by the Department for … Continued

The Chancellor should build on last Friday’s welcome and ambitious job support package with fresh measures to support both self-employed workers and employees who are still not getting the help they need, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday). In a new briefing note – Next steps for supporting family incomes – the Foundation considers who … Continued