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 [...]
Unemployed young people to attend job “boot camp” under new government plans August 17, 2015 Young unemployed people will be forced to attend a “boot camp” to help them back into work, under new plans set out by the government today. The compulsory three-week camp is part of a “no excuses” approach to reducing youth unemployment, said paymaster general Matt Hancock in a statement. The policy will come into force [...]
UK company pension deficits could not be plugged by annual salary of every UK employee August 17, 2015 The annual salary of every employee in the UK couldn't pay off the pension deficit of its private companies which has more than tripled in the last 15 years. The combined shortfall of the UK private sector's defined benefit schemes stands at around £900bn, up from £250bn at the start of the millennium, despite millions [...]
Surprise drop in top dog pay: Report shows FTSE chiefs taking home less cash in real terms August 16, 2015 Average pay packages for FTSE 100 chief execs fell in real terms over the course of the most recently-recorded year, according to a new report out today. Bosses at British blue chip firms took home an average of £4.96m in 2014, compared with £4.92m in 2013, according to the High Pay Centre think tank. Adjusting [...]