Back to the 1970s: Brits know the damage being done to our economy April 23, 2026 By late 1978 Britain was in the grip of what became known as the Winter of Discontent. Waves of strike action caused huge economic and social disruption as rubbish piled up on the streets and bodies went unburied. It was a crisis for the Labour government and a low point in Britain’s recent history. It [...]
McDonald’s targets jobless Gen Z with ‘UK’s largest work experience programme’ April 22, 2026 McDonald’s has launched the UK’s largest ever work experience programme in a major recruitment drive that will specifically target the ballooning number of young Brits that are neither working nor in full-time education. The fast-food chain will hand out some 2,500 paid placements to young workers over the age of 16 as part of a [...]
Job vacancies fall to lowest level in five years April 21, 2026 The UK jobs market took a turn for the worst as job vacancies fell to their lowest level in nearly five years, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of vacancies fell by an estimate of 29,000 in the three months to March. It is the lowest level of [...]
Unemployment to peak at 5.8 per cent as jobs market faces ‘biggest hit’ since pandemic April 20, 2026 Britain is set to be “pushed to the brink of a technical recession” in the coming year as the economic fallout of the war in Iran dampens growth prospects and sends unemployment soaring. The latest Item Club report sees the UK economy flatlining in the second and third quarters as it digests the consequences of [...]
UK suffered biggest unemployment surge in G7 April 16, 2026 UK unemployment rose at a faster pace than any country in the G7, the OECD has said, with a sharp rise in joblessness particularly damaging for the youngest people. Unemployment levels across the country rose sharply by 0.8 percentage points over the year to 5.2 per cent between the last three months of 2024 and [...]
Pizza king points to youth joblessness as restaurant group eyes takeovers April 15, 2026 The boss of restaurant group Bow Street raised concerns over youth joblessness as the firm behind Dim T slipped into an annual loss, but outlined his dealmaking plans. David Page, now the chief executive of the Aim-listed firm, is a former boss of Pizza Express and played a key role in the expansion of Franco [...]
Firms slash jobs at fastest pace this year and pay growth slows April 13, 2026 Businesses slashed jobs at the fastest pace in 2026 as employers also resisted giving staff big pay increases over March, research has suggested, exposing the Iran war’s damaging effects on all sides of the UK economy. Research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG said there was a steeper rise in the number [...]
European banking jobs face AI reset ‘not mass job losses – for now’ April 10, 2026 European banking jobs are in line for a boost from AI despite widespread fears the integration of new tech will trigger mass layoffs, according to fresh analysis. The headcount at the top lenders is expected to get a four per cent average uplift, analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence said in a new note. The increase is [...]
Workers’ rights laws couldn’t come at a worse time for businesses April 8, 2026 The government’s Employment Rights agenda is becoming a reality, and the timing could scarcely be worse. As the first provisions of the Employment Rights Act come into force, Britain’s economic outlook is darkening rapidly. Growth is faltering under the weight of an energy shock, inflation is stirring again and businesses are staring down a period [...]
Government can’t fix the jobs crisis alone – employers must step in March 25, 2026 It is companies, not ministers who do the most to create meaningful work. Let’s get to it, says Octavius Black One of Europe’s most successful fintechs has given its employees unlimited access to AI with a simple instruction: build tools that will multiply your productivity by a factor of ten. The results are highly personalised [...]