Sterling jumps as UK wage growth smashes expectations and unemployment falls again June 17, 2015 The pound leaped 0.54 per cent against the dollar to $1.5715 this morning, after data from the Office for National Statistics showed wages grew 2.7 per cent between February and April. Wage growth is at its fastest rate since Augest 2001, smashing expectations of 2.5 per cent. It is significantly higher than inflation, which stands at 0.1 [...]
Small firms grow at fastest rate since 2008 June 16, 2015 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are growing at their fastest rate since the economic crisis in 2008, according to a report out today. New research from the Enterprise Research Centre (ERC) shows that the private sector added over 600,000 net new jobs last year, allowing SMEs to “regain the ground lost” in 2008. The ERC said [...]
Retail administrations claimed 5,000 jobs last year June 16, 2015 Nearly 5,000 people lost their jobs as a result of retail administrations last year, including Phones4U, La Senza, Jane Norman and Internacionale, a new report has revealed. The UK’s 13 biggest high street failures led to 735 stores closing up and down the country in 2014, with half the roles put under risk ultimately [...]
Cultivating London’s next generation of tech entrepreneurs June 15, 2015 Digital technology is changing the world, but the pace of that change is still breathtaking. In three years, Airbnb amassed as many hotel rooms as the Hilton dynasty did in a century. Ten years ago, Twitter didn’t exist – now it has more than 300m users. And Spotify adds around 20,000 tracks to its 30m-strong [...]
Apprenticeships will be treated same as degrees under new law June 14, 2015 Apprenticeships will be given protected legal status under a new law to be introduced later this year, the government announced yesterday. The business department said that the forthcoming enterprise bill will make the term “apprenticeship” protected in law, in the same way as a university degree. “If university graduates have their moment in the sun [...]
City firms in rush to hire contract workers to deal with regulation June 14, 2015 Demand for contract workers within London’s financial services sector is soaring, new figures show. The number of contract vacancies, which are short-term, jumped 45 per cent between April and May, according to data released today by recruiters Venn Group. Demand is still high for compliance positions, with financial services firms adjusting to the new regulatory [...]
Getting the right person for the right job: LinkedIn could add £1.7 trillion to the world’s economy June 12, 2015 You may sometimes wonder why you build up your LinkedIn connections (see number six from this article) but a new study argues social media jobs platforms could add $2.7 trillion (£1.7 trillion) to the economy. McKinsey Global Institute's latest report “a labour market that works” found that “online talent platforms” such as LinkedIn and [...]
IT, engineering, sales: These are the sectors that need summer workers the most June 12, 2015 As the summer jobs market heats up, demand is highest for temps, according to a survey released today by recruitment specialists CareerBuilder: some 39 per cent of the 400 employers polled intend to hire staff this summer. In further good news for job hunters, nearly three quarters – 72 per cent, of those surveyed [...]
London leads finance sector wage gowth as chartered accountants enjoy above inflation pay rise June 11, 2015 Finance sector workers’ pay has picked up, according to data released yesterday by Icas, the trade body for chartered accountants. The group found that 39 per cent of chartered accountants polled received an above-inflation pay rise in the last twelve months, in a survey of over 1,100 Icas members. Next year 67 per cent expect [...]
Don’t fear an increasing minimum wage – it helps the country’s poorest June 11, 2015 The great challenge for the government over the next five years is to raise productivity and living standards, while also continuing in its efforts to cut the deficit. Significant reform to planning, skills, tax and regulation will all be necessary. But one regulation which should not be abolished is the National Minimum Wage (NMW). When [...]