Britain went into this crisis with falling incomes for low and middle income households Response to Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics 26 March 2020 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 READ MORE
Almost half a million new Universal Credit claims shows the UK is in midst of an unemployment crisis 25 March 2020 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 READ MORE
Compensation for workers losing their jobs or having hours cut is needed alongside action on the self-employed 25 March 2020 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 READ MORE
Government sets out unprecedented but essential pledges to underwrite wages and strengthen the safety net Onus now on firms to not lay off workers and for government to get payments flowing 20 March 2020 The Chancellor’s hugely welcome and unprecedented pledge to pay 80 per cent of the wages of employees without work to do in struggling firms is a crucial step change in the government’s economic response to the current crisis, the Resolution Foundation said today (Friday). Resolution Foundation analysis shows why it is so crucial to act, … Continued READ MORE
Resolution Foundation calls for £22bn package to support workers facing lay-offs and families facing big income shocks 20 March 2020 The government should introduce a new Statutory Retention Pay (SRP) scheme to support struggling firms and prevent mass job losses among the five million employees in sectors critically affected by the coronavirus shutdown, as well as wider support to limit the living standards hit to families, according to a new Resolution Foundation report published today … Continued READ MORE
Policy makers’ focus must shift immediately from welcoming record employment to tackling rising unemployment Response to ONS labour market statistics March 2020 17 March 2020 New measures must be introduced immediately to limit the rise in unemployment, and cushion the income shock for those who will unavoidably lose jobs, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market data. READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances £200 billion spending increase to tackle coronavirus and end austerity sees Chancellor turn on borrowing taps 11 March 2020 The Chancellor decided to borrow an extra £108 billion in order to announce £206 billion of extra spending in his Budget, the Resolution Foundation said today (Wednesday) in response to the Budget. The Budget combined an immediate £12 billion package to tackle coronavirus with much bigger and longer-lasting spending increases to end austerity. The spending … Continued READ MORE
Living standards growth for the poorest households goes into reverse – leaving them no better off than they were in the mid-2000s 5 March 2020 The poorest fifth of the population have experienced a 7 per cent fall in their disposable household incomes over the past two years, leaving their incomes no higher last year than they were back in 2004-05, the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response to the latest ONS income and inequality data. The ONS latest … Continued READ MORE
Budget ‘Infrastructure revolution’ must be accompanied by ‘delivery revolution’ to avoid wasting £10 billion 4 March 2020 The forthcoming Budget ‘infrastructure revolution’ must be accompanied by better planning, evaluation, and execution of projects, if the government is going to avoid losing £10bn of the £100bn it plans to invest in ‘levelling up’ the country, according to a new report published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. The report – Euston, we have … Continued READ MORE
New ONS data reveals that inequality has not fallen over the past two decades 25 February 2020 New ONS analysis published today (Tuesday), which uses new data on those with high incomes to improve the accuracy of its income statistics, shows that inequality has not fallen over the past two decades, did rise in the run-up to the crash, and has been flat since the crisis. Commenting on the new ONS analysis, … Continued READ MORE
New Chancellor set for a modest fiscal windfall – but tough choices remain 24 February 2020 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is on course to deliver a modest fiscal windfall of around £8 billion on Budget day, but the Chancellor still faces tough choices over raising taxes or watering down his fiscal rules, according to new research published today (Monday) by the Resolution Foundation. With just over a fortnight left … Continued READ MORE
UK set for first spending boost to economic growth since the crisis amid Budget downgrade to growth outlook 20 February 2020 The new Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to deliver the first spending boost to economic growth since the crisis in his upcoming Budget, while the OBR is on course to mark down the UK’s GDP outlook by around half a percentage point, according to new analysis published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s … Continued READ MORE
UK finally returns to record pay – after a 12-year wait and £141 of lost earnings growth 18 February 2020 The UK hit an important living standards milestone at the end of 2019 as real average weekly pay finally surpassed its pre-crisis peak, though the 12-year pay downturn has left average earnings £141 a week behind their pre-crisis trend, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to monthly labour market data released by the … Continued READ MORE
‘Blue Wall’ paying the price of relative decline in the 2010s, alongside long-lasting North-South divide 12 February 2020 The ‘Blue Wall’ constituencies that switched from Labour to the Conservatives in the last election experienced a tough 2010s in terms of their jobs, pay and house prices, according to new research published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. Painting the towns blue explores the demographics and living standards of the 50 seats across Wales, … Continued READ MORE
Poverty rates halve when people move into work – but work alone cannot eliminate poverty 4 February 2020 Poverty rates fall from 35 per cent to 18 per cent when people move into work – but even sustained employment does not eliminate in-work poverty for too many households, highlighting the need for wider support, according to new research published today (Tuesday) by the Resolution Foundation in partnership with Clarion Housing Group. With almost … Continued READ MORE
Midlands soars while London stalls – house prices across the UK are set to continue ‘levelling up’ 30 January 2020 The house price gap between London and the rest of the UK has narrowed by almost one fifth since the EU referendum and this ‘levelling up’ trend may have further to run, according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The new quarterly Housing Outlook looks at what drove the UK’s regional … Continued READ MORE
UK maintains record employment today, and lower inflation promises more pay growth tomorrow 21 January 2020 The UK looks set to start the new decade with employment at a record high and with its long overdue pay recovery continuing, as easing inflationary pressures mask a slowdown in nominal pay growth, the Resolution Foundation says today (Tuesday) in response to the ONS latest labour market statistics. Following a series of record-breakers in … Continued READ MORE
The ‘Universal Credit parliament’ has finally arrived, but UC’s very different impact across the country is being ignored 21 January 2020 Press release from the Resolution Foundation Embargo – 00:01hrs Tuesday 21st 2020 The ‘Universal Credit parliament’ has finally arrived, but UC’s very different impact across the country is being ignored The impact of Universal Credit (UC) will be felt very differently in different places: something currently being ignored amid growing debates about how … Continued READ MORE
Women’s working week lasts an hour longer since the crisis 18 January 2020 Britain’s centuries-long fall in the length of the working week has stalled in the wake of the financial crisis, and has actually increased by an hour for women and young people over the past decade, according to new research published today (Saturday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Times They Aren’t A Changin’ – supported by Trust … Continued READ MORE
More lower income households are using consumer debt – even as overall household debt has fallen from pre-crisis peaks 15 January 2020 Low-income households have seen the fastest rise in the use of consumer debt since the financial crisis, and are too exposed to financial shocks, according to new research published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. An outstanding balance? explores changes in the use of consumer debt – including credit cards, store cards, mail order and … Continued READ MORE
Stronger enforcement needed as minimum wage underpayment grows 8 January 2020 Stronger enforcement of the minimum wage is needed as underpayment is rising, and fines for those underpaying are too low, according to new research published today (Wednesday) by the Resolution Foundation. Under the wage floor says that the huge success of the UK’s legal minimum wage over the last 20 years has combined higher wages … Continued READ MORE
Slow growth poses risk to jobs in 2020, even as UK returns to record pay 27 December 2019 The UK labour market is at a turning point, with next year set to see real pay finally surpass its 2008 peak but employment at risk of falling from the record level it enjoyed throughout 2019, according to the Resolution Foundation’s Earnings Outlook published today (Friday). The Outlook notes that 2019 was a good year … Continued READ MORE
Employment record provides an early Christmas present for the new government, but economic slowdown has hit pay growth 17 December 2019 The UK ends the decade with employment at a new record high of 76.2 per cent, but a slowing economy has hit pay growth and means that the UK enters a new decade with pay still below its pre-crisis peak, the Resolution Foundation said today (Tuesday) in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. … Continued READ MORE
Richest households enjoy the lion’s share of the UK’s big wealth boom 5 December 2019 The UK’s total wealth grew by 13 per cent to reach record £14.6 trillion in the two years to 2016-18, with wealth among the richest ten per cent households increasing almost four times faster than those of the poorest households (11 per cent vs 3 per cent), the Resolution Foundation said today (Thursday) in response … Continued READ MORE
Main parties already likely to break their new fiscal rules 28 November 2019 Labour and the Conservatives are already likely to be on course to break their new fiscal rules announced less than a month ago, as a result of pledges made in and around their Manifestos, according to new research published today (Thursday) by the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation says that fiscal rules are important for the … Continued READ MORE