Apprenticeship levy faces new round of critics August 21, 2015 Business groups are pushing back today on government plans to fund apprenticeships with a new tax on large firms, saying the measure would prove “costly” and “bureaucratic”. Chancellor George Osborne first proposed an “apprenticeship levy” last month in his Summer Budget, saying that too many large companies “leave the training to others and take a [...]
The number of young people not in education, employment, or training is going down August 20, 2015 The job prospects for young people are improving, despite the fact unemployment overall has stopped declining. There were 922,000 young people who were not in education, employment or training (Neets) from April to June, the Office for National Statistics said this morning. It marks a drop of 21,000 from the first quarter of this year. The [...]
UK jobs market: People would rather be unemployed than work on a zero hours contract August 20, 2015 People would rather be unemployed than on a zero hours contract, according to a new study that shows half of those who’ve been offered the controversial contract turned it down, opting instead for continued unemployment. Zero hours contracts, which guarantee no set hours, have skyrocketed in recent years, but despite 700,000 people in the UK [...]
Over-qualified and under-employed: The majority of graduates are “in non-graduate jobs”, says the CIPD August 19, 2015 New graduates are being massively under-employed when they try to join the labour market, with thousands taking their first step in their career in jobs that don't require their hard-won degrees, a new study has found. The research, by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), found graduate over-qualification has reached “saturation point”, with [...]
UK housing: Skills shortages forcing construction firms to turn down building work August 19, 2015 Is a skills shortage fuelling the UK housing market's supply issues? Research published today suggests that two-thirds (66 per cent) of small and medium construction firms have had to turn down work because they don't have the staff to carry it out, according to the Federation of Master Buildings. London has the biggest [...]
Pocket money inflation exceeds parent wage hikes August 18, 2015 Bad news for working parents: the average allowance for UK youngsters is growing at an unprecedented rate, and it’s even outstripping their parents’ wage growth this year. Average pocket-money for eight-15 year olds has soared by 448 per cent in nearly 30 years, compared with just a 193 per cent increase in parents’ income over [...]
Four secrets of the happiest Londoners: The perfect salary, commute time, hours of sleep and morning alarm time August 18, 2015 Londoners may be accused of being a miserable bunch (and tourists standing on the wrong side of the escalator are often blamed), but there are a few things that will perk us right up. Surprisingly, getting up at 5am is one of them. Or that's according to findings of research into the habits of 12,000 [...]
Bank of England analysts believe Twitter could help predict a bank run, early signs of unemployment data and market movements August 18, 2015 Bank of England analysts believe Twitter and other social media give “much potential for central banks” to predict market movements, indicate unemployment data ahead of time and even give signs of an impending bank run. In the run-up to the Scottish independence referendum a team of analysts and IT experts within the BoE built [...]
UK inflation: Rail fares have risen “three times faster” than wages – but next year will be lowest increase for years August 18, 2015 Next year could the the first time in years that commuters beat the annual rail fare rise, with the rate based on July's inflation data published today. Economists have previously tipped the inflation measure to be around one per cent for July – the month which regulated rail fares are set by. That would make it [...]
FTSE chief executive pay: How long would it take you to earn as much as these top 10 highest earners? August 17, 2015 The pay packets of the FTSE 100's top bosses has fallen in real terms, with chief executives taking home around £80,000 less than previous years, adjusting for inflation. You probably won't see any of them cutting back, though. That's a drop in the ocean of their annual income from salaries, bonuses, share awards and other remuneration, which [...]