Britain’s Mittelstand: Stop overlooking the squeezed middle of UK business September 24, 2014 PARTY conference season is in full swing, with politicians honing their soundbites for the coming general election. Many will have heard of “the squeezed middle”, used to refer to the middle classes who have been caught by the rising cost of living and stagnant wage growth. But the term could apply equally to the business [...]
UK unemployment at lowest rate since December 2008 July 16, 2014 The unemployment rate has continued to fall, dropping from 6.6 per cent to 6.5 per cent during the three months to May in line with analysts' predictions – the lowest it has been since October to December 2008. The data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that unemployment has been dropping for a [...]
…but wage growth lags further behind pace of price inflation July 16, 2014 FALLING unemployment and a rise in the number of jobs announced yesterday both failed to boost the value of wages, which grew 0.7 per cent in the quarter compared to a year ago, excluding bonuses. The figure from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which excludes those who are self-employed, is just 0.3 per cent [...]
Falling unemployment vs stagnant wages: Jobs market to dominate 2015 general election August 13, 2014 The battle lines for next year’s election were drawn yesterday as the Conservatives and Labour clashed over their differing views of the latest figures on the recovery. Britain’s tumbling rate of unemployment has given the government a boost ahead of the vote on 7 May next year – but Labour is stressing the stagnant level [...]
Low pay and precarious employment: How the beauty industry scars young women for life August 31, 2014 The career prospects of young women are being hindered by their tendency to apply to oversubscribed and often poorly paid jobs in industries such as hair and beauty, according to a report by the Young Women's Trust. Called “Scarred for life?”, it shows that there are currently 418,000 women in England aged 18-24 who [...]
Miliband outlines Labour Party’s economic plans: No big spending, more banks, 200,000 new homes a year July 19, 2014 Ed Miliband has told Labour there will be no return to the high spending of the previous Labour government and that the party will commit to "balancing the books" at the Party’s national policy forum in Milton Keynes today. The Labour leader outlined economic plans to party activists in a speech ahead of next year’s [...]
Inflation jumps to biggest monthly increase since October 2012 July 15, 2014 UK consumer inflation unexpectedly jumped to 1.9 per cent in June, according to latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Headline annual consumer price inflation (CPI) recorded a much higher increase than had been forecast, rising 0.4 percentage points on the May figure. That is the biggest monthly increase since October 2012 [...]
Why embracing freer trade could be our best chance to help the world’s poor October 27, 2014 WITH one simple policy – more free trade – we could make the world $500 trillion better off and lift 160m people out of extreme poverty. If there is one question we have to ask ourselves, it is: why don’t we? In 2000, the international community agreed a set of important targets to improve the [...]
Real wages continue fall to dash hopes that cost of living crisis is easing July 16, 2014 The recovery is still some way off reaching people's pockets, as earnings growth slowed to a meagre 0.3 per cent in the three months to May, according to the Office of National Statistics. Average earnings for the three months to May fell from a revised 0.8 per cent figure for April to its lowest [...]
As Ed Miliband seeks to woo businesses, is Labour’s pro-enterprise stance credible? July 3, 2014 Lord Wood of Anfield, shadow cabinet minister and adviser to Ed Miliband, says Yes. Labour knows that the foundation of a successful Britain is the success of British business – large and small, home and abroad. But to compete and succeed in the decades ahead, we need to address the long-term challenges of our economy. [...]