Work· Cities and regions Low pay in Greater Manchester: A report for the Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review 5 March 2019 by Conor D’Arcy and Laura Gardiner and Fahmida Rahman In this report, we provide an in-depth look at low pay in Greater Manchester. We explore who is in the low-paid workforce, the jobs they work in, their routes out of low pay, the dynamism of the local labour market and the role of employers. READ MORE
Work Atypical approaches: Options to support workers with insecure incomes 21 January 2019 by Conor D’Arcy and Fahmida Rahman There has been much debate about the certainty of income that atypical work provides, and whether the rights of workers are being consistently upheld. This report explores these issues, looking beyond a minimum wage premium, at how other high-income countries have sought to reduce one-sided flexibility in the labour market. READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Calculating a Living Wage for London and the rest of the UK 5 November 2018 by Conor D’Arcy and David Finch This report sets out the method through which the Living Wage rates in London and the rest of the UK were calculated for the 2018/19 rates. Resolution Foundation undertakes this calculation on behalf of the Living Wage Foundation. READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty The Living Standards Audit 2018 24 July 2018 by Adam Corlett and Stephen Clarke and Conor D’Arcy and John Wood Britain’s weak post-crisis living standards recovery went into reverse last year for the poorest 30 per cent of families. Our analysis shows how important cash benefits like tax credits have been for supporting ‘just about managing’ families and tackling child poverty since the millennium. READ MORE
Scotland· Wealth The £1 trillion pie: how wealth is shared across Scotland 22 June 2018 by Conor D’Arcy and Torsten Bell The wealth of Scottish households has grown rapidly in recent years and now exceeds £1 trillion for the first time. But from a living standards perspective, what matters is how that wealth – including property, pensions and savings – is shared. The report explores some of the key inequalities when it comes to wealth in … Continued READ MORE
Work Low Pay Britain 2018 18 May 2018 by Conor D’Arcy Our annual look at low pay, for 2018. With low pay falling, we suggest policy makers should focus on three challenges: progression (low paid workers lack thereof), power (likewise), and the gender pay gap. READ MORE
Work· Generations The kids aren’t alright: a new approach to tackle the challenges faced by young people in the UK labour market 26 February 2018 by Stephen Clarke and Conor D’Arcy A bold new approach is required to help the one in three millennials who say they’ve been held back from moving jobs. New challenges have emerged for today’s millennials: over half of all those on zero-hours contracts aged 16-34. READ MORE
Labour market enforcement· Work Time for time-and-a-half? Exploring the evidence and policy options on overtime 12 December 2017 by Conor D’Arcy Our quarterly earnings outlook, for 2017 Q2. Our ‘Spotlight’ piece looks at why a supposedly tight labour market is not delivering higher wage growth. We suggest this is down to the contribution of the inactive population, who are providing a bigger boost to effective supply than it has historically. READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Calculating a Living Wage for London and the rest of the UK 6 November 2017 by Conor D’Arcy and David Finch 2017/18 saw a rise in the minimum wage rate to £8.75 in the UK. We set out a method for determining the independently-calculated Living Wage rates in London and the UK. This comes at a time when crucial policy changes put upward pressure on the Living Wage rates. READ MORE
Work The Great Escape? Low pay and progression in the UK’s labour market 19 October 2017 by Conor D’Arcy and David Finch For most low-paid workers, poorly-paid positions are not acting as a first rung on the ladder: it is the only rung. Of all those low paid in 2006 by 2016 only one in six people managed to escape low pay. READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Low Pay Britain 2017 12 October 2017 by Conor D’Arcy Our annual look at low pay. In 2017 we found that the number in low hourly pay had fallen, driven by the higher minimum wage for those aged 25+. We also held focus groups with people in low pay, who highlighted several non-pay issues they faced at work, including a lack of control over working hours. READ MORE
Work The minimum required? Minimum wages and the self-employed 4 July 2017 by Conor D’Arcy The minimum wage revolutionised the lower end of the UK’s labour market, protecting employees from exploitation. But the self-employed – now one in seven of the workforce – are not entitled to the minimum wage. With growing concerns over their earnings and conditions, particularly in the so-called gig economy, extending the minimum wage to some … Continued READ MORE
Housing· Savings & debt· Wealth· Generations The generation of wealth: asset accumulation across and within cohorts 20 June 2017 by Conor D’Arcy and Laura Gardiner Family wealth in 21st Century Britain is huge and growing, rising from £9.9 trillion before the financial crisis to over £11 trillion in the most recent data – more than six times our national income. Significant increases have come from house price rises in the 1990s and 2000s, followed by major growth in private pension wealth more … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Cities and regions A western union: living standards and devolution in the West of England 26 January 2017 by Conor D’Arcy This May, voters in the West of England elect a Metro Mayor, with new powers over transport, skills and welfare-to-work policies, as well as the chance to bring economic leadership to their area. The area – comprising Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire – has outperformed most other city regions on a … Continued READ MORE
Work· Growth Industrial strategies? Exploring responses to the National Living Wage in low-paying sectors 20 December 2016 by Conor D’Arcy This report provides another contribution to evidence on the impact of the National Living Wage to date. READ MORE
Incomes· Growth· Cities and regions Midlands engine trouble: The challenges facing the West Midlands Combined Authority 12 December 2016 by Conor D’Arcy In May 2017, residents of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) will go to the polls to elect its first ‘Metro Mayor’. The WMCA – comprising Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton councils – is also at the heart of the government’s wider ‘Midlands Engine’, which aims to boost the economy of this … Continued READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Calculating a Living Wage for London and the rest of the UK 31 October 2016 by Conor D’Arcy and David Finch This paper sets out the method for determining the independently-calculated Living Wage rates in London and the rest of the UK, and the respective rates that will apply from 31 October 2016. It is built on the findings of a report published by the Resolution Foundation in July 2016 and the views of the Living Wage … Continued READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Low Pay Britain 2016 18 October 2016 by Stephen Clarke and Conor D’Arcy This is our sixth annual report on the prevalence of low pay in Britain. It uses the latest data available (2015) to map out the scale of low pay and the groups that are most affected. It shows how this has changed over recent decades and looks at what the coming years might hold, particularly … Continued READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Making the Living Wage: The Resolution Foundation review of the Living Wage 27 July 2016 by Conor D’Arcy and David Finch The recommendations outlined in this review aim to further strengthen the Living Wage campaign. They set out an improved Living Wage methodology to underpin the campaign as it moves into the next stage of its development while being more firmly grounded in the cost of living. READ MORE
Work· Living Wage The first 100 days: early evidence on the impact of the National Living Wage 11 July 2016 by Conor D’Arcy and Matthew Whittaker In this briefing note, we combine official data and a bespoke survey to better understand employers’ initial reaction to the announcement and implementation of the National Living Wage and their plans for the future. We also consider the implications of the Brexit vote for the future trajectory of the NLW. READ MORE
Work· Mobility Finding your routes: non-graduate pathways in the UK’s labour market 11 May 2016 by Conor D’Arcy and David Finch This report, commissioned by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, explores how poor career routes are holding back the ‘forgotten forty per cent’ of the workforce – mid-skilled workers with at least five A*-C GCSEs but without a university education. READ MORE
Firms· Work· Living Wage Weighing up the wage floor: Employer responses to the National Living Wage 24 February 2016 by Conor D’Arcy and Gerwyn Davies The findings of this report confirm that a significant share of firms will not be affected by the National Living Wage (NLW), or will face only a small increase in their wage bill. At the same time, it is clear that for some employers, particularly those in low-paying sectors, the NLW will raise their labour costs considerably. Both the survey and the case study interviews … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Work· Scotland· Growth State of working Scotland: living standards, jobs and pay 20 January 2016 by Conor D’Arcy and Gavin Kelly With only months to go until May’s Scottish Parliament elections, this report provides an analysis of the state of working Scotland. In particular, we focus on how Scotland’s labour market performed in the run-up to the economic downturn and in the recovery. READ MORE
Work Taking up the floor: exploring the impact of the National Living Wage on employers 15 September 2015 by Conor D’Arcy and Adam Corlett On average across the 6 million people affected, the NLW is expected to add £760 annually to pre-tax wages. In total, our analysis finds that £4.5 billion will be added to the wage bill of British firms in 2020. The question we turn to in this report – the second in a series investigating the … Continued READ MORE
Work Higher ground: who gains from the National Living Wage? 2 September 2015 by Conor D’Arcy and Adam Corlett and Laura Gardiner In this note, the first in a series looking at the opportunities and challenges associated with the National Living Wage, we focus specifically on who stands to gain. Which groups of workers will benefit, and by how much? And how does this wage legislation interact with the tax and benefits system, and therefore household incomes? … Continued READ MORE
