Labour vows to overhaul apprenticeship levy to improve skills and growth September 25, 2023 Labour has pledged to reform the apprenticeship levy in a bid to encourage firms to improve their employees' skills.
Pay growth slows again even as public sector awards hit record annual levels September 20, 2023 "This month’s data reinforces the XpertHR view that we have reached the peak of higher pay awards, and for the remainder of the year we can expect settlements and increases in pay to slowly begin to fall," Sheila Attwood, XpertHR senior content manager, said.
Pensions secretary: Triple lock has ‘very long term’ question marks as cost spirals September 12, 2023 The triple lock - set to cost an extra £2bn as a result of new wage growth data - may not be sustainable in the long-term
Rishi Sunak dodges commitment to pensions ‘triple lock’ in Tory manifesto September 11, 2023 Rishi Sunak has dodged a commitment to include the pensions ‘triple lock’ in the next Tory election manifesto. The Prime Minister now risks a backlash from his own MPs who will worry about turning off older voters in the general election. It comes amid reports ministers could consider a cut to benefits ahead of voters [...]
Labour more trusted than Tories on Brexit and the economy, new poll finds August 29, 2023 Voters place more trust in Labour than the Conservatives on issues including the economy, tax policies, Brexit and unemployment, new polling has revealed. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party secured a higher trust rating than the Tories on nine out of ten issues that voters were polled on by YouGov for The Times. Prime Minister Rishi [...]
Over-50s skills gap persists as unemployment increases August 15, 2023 Skills bootcamps schemes are failing to get over-50s back onto payrolls, despite ministers prioritising older Brits returning to the workforce. Labour accused the government of not helping enough over-55s to retrain and claimed older workers were “abandoned to the scrapheap”, making up just one in 20 reskilling trainees. Adults aged 55 to 67 make up [...]
UK unemployment ticks up but wage growth hits two-decade-high August 15, 2023 The rate of UK unemployment rose to 4.2 per cent in the three months to June from 3.9 per cent in the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics said. However, this was tempered by annual growth in pay – excluding bonuses – up to 7.8 per cent in June. This is the highest [...]
Unemployment to remain unchanged at four per cent as jobs market cooling continues August 14, 2023 Experts are expecting the slow cooling of the jobs market to continue when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) releases new data on Tuesday morning. The unemployment rate in the three months to the end of June is expected to remain unchanged at 4.0%, according to a consensus supplied by Pantheon Macroeconomics. But within this [...]
Robert Walters posts 60 per cent profit slump as economic woes clobber recruitment August 1, 2023 A recruiter that is often viewed by analysts as a bellwether for the UK jobs market has posted a 60 per cent drop in profits as a result of firms trimming hiring amid the economic slowdown. Robert Walters, which specialises in sourcing talent for the City’s biggest banks, brokers and insurers, said today operating profits [...]
City workers pocket above average 13 per cent pay rise as financial services jobs tumble July 27, 2023 City workers pocketed an average 13 per cent pay increase when switching jobs over the last quarter, a rise that is above the national average, new research out today shows. Salary increases handed down to new starters at the Square Mile’s banks, brokers and insurers have ebbed over the last year as activity in the [...]