UK unemployment figures could be three times higher than official figures with an ‘army of missing workers’ not accounted for – report January 31, 2023 The UK’s unemployment rate could be three times higher than government figures show due to widespread “hidden unemployment,” a report has warned. Official figures published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there are just 1.2m unemployed people in Britain, leading to an unemployment rate of 3.7 per cent. However, the Centre for [...]
Exclusive: UK firms stop hiring and mull layoffs as recession takes hold January 9, 2023 Layoffs are on course to climb, driven by businesses cutting costs amid what risks being the longest UK recession in memory, exclusive research shared with City A.M. indicates. Firms are planning to pause hiring or even sack workers to protect their finances from a slump in spending sparked by the cost of living crisis. Nearly [...]
Labour: Work from home but reverse pandemic retirement, over-50s urged January 7, 2023 Labour is hoping to tempt over-50s out of early retirement with the right to work from home. The shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, has outlined plans to entice over-50s to take up employment again. Speaking with The Daily Telegraph, Keir Starmer’s spokesperson on the issue, Ashworth, said Labour will launch a series of [...]
Decade high 400k working days lost to strike action in October December 13, 2022 Over 400,000 working days were lost to strikes in October, the highest since November 2011, official figures from the Office for National Statistics out today reveal. Britain has been hit with a wave of industrial action by railway, postal and health workers sparked by pay and working conditions disputes. Working days lost to staff walk [...]
Economic gloom finally sweeps through UK jobs market November 10, 2022 UK job growth has slimmed for the first time since the 2021 Covid-19 winter lockdown, driven by employers bracing for the longest recession on record, a new survey out today unveils. For the first time since February 2021, when the country was in the late stages of the third and longest pandemic lockdown, businesses trimmed [...]
US employment market tightens as companies add 263,000 jobs October 7, 2022 US employers added 263,000 jobs in September as the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 per cent, figures from the Bureau of Labour Statistics show. Economists polled by Reuters had previously expected US employers would add 250,000 jobs in September. The figures mark both a slowdown and a tightening of the US jobs market, [...]
UK joblessness falls to 1970s low, but pay continues to plummet September 13, 2022 UK joblessness has slid to its lowest level since 1974, but scorching inflation is still wiping out Brits’ pay, official figures published today reveal. The proportion of people out of work dropped to 3.6 per cent in the three months to July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Despite the historic low unemployment [...]
Inflation deals record blow to UK workers’ living standards August 16, 2022 Surging inflation has dealt a record blow to households’ wages in a sign the UK economy is tumbling into a sharp slowdown, official figures published today showed. Brits’ pay accounting for consumer price index inflation dropped 4.1 per cent over the last three months, the biggest drop since records began in 2001, according to the [...]
Firms scramble to hire workers despite recession jitters August 15, 2022 Businesses are still scrambling to hire staff despite experts forecasting the UK will drop into a drawn-out recession at the end of this year, a new survey published today reveals. Over seven in 10 firms intend to boost staff levels over the next three months, while just over one in 10 employers expect to cut [...]
UK jobs market still holding up despite recession warnings August 12, 2022 The UK jobs market is defying gloomy recession forecasts, but economists have warned joblessness could rise as the country limps into the worst of the cost of living crisis, a new survey published today reveals. Vacancies surged to 1.85m last month, the highest this year, in a sign employers are still trying to grab new [...]