Redundancies hit highest level since pandemic as unemployment climbs higher December 16, 2025 The UK unemployment rate jumped above the 5 per cent mark and redundancies surged to their highest level since the pandemic. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published damning figures on Tuesday morning that will likely send chills throughout the Labour government ministers ahead of the Christmas break. It said the number of payrolled employess [...]
Public sector jobs and pay increase while private sector struggles December 16, 2025 Public sector employment jumped in September while the number of workers in the private sector fell, official statistics have shown. Employment in the public sector increased by 7,000 in the three months to September 2025 as total employment reached 6.2m. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said employment in central government hit a record high [...]
Business chiefs: Employment will be hit by minimum wage hike November 25, 2025 Business chiefs have criticised Rachel Reeves’ decision to hike the national living wage by more than 4 per cent for most British workers at the Budget. In a final announcement before unveiling the full set of fiscal measures, the Chancellor said she would back the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to raise the minimum wage to [...]
Jobs market decline ‘fuels hopes’ for Bank of England interest rate cut November 11, 2025 The jump in the unemployment rate and softening private sector wage growth is driving up expectations of an interest rate cut at the Bank of England’s next meeting in mid-December. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate had jumped to 5 per cent, higher than economists had expected, while wage growth had [...]
Reeves ‘to raise national living wage’ in extra burden for firms October 25, 2025 Rachel Reeves is set to confirm a rise in the National Living Wage by four per cent at the Budget, according to reports, in an electorally popular decision that could have severe implications for businesses and the wider UK economy. Businesses have repeatedly warned that the double cost of last year’s tax raid on employers’ [...]
Can Liverpool really add £10bn to its economy? October 13, 2025 The Labour mayor of the Liverpool City Region has unveiled a 10-year plan to create tens of thousands of jobs and add £10bn to the local economy. Steve Rotheram’s “bold and ambitious” plan has been described as a “roadmap” to increasing wages, driving investment, raising living standards and providing better services for the region’s 1.6m [...]
Anthropic: UK staff get eye-watering sums at AI giant October 9, 2025 US AI giant Anthropic is paying its UK staff eye-watering financial packages as it attempts to build a foothold in this country. The business, which only launched in the UK at the start of 2023, increased its headcount from six to 43 in 2024 while its staff costs rocketed from £3.6m to £24m. Its wage [...]
Wage growth hits five per cent as more jobs shed August 12, 2025 Wage growth hit five per cent June as more jobs were shed due to higher labour costs introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, official data has revealed. Pay growth excluding bonuses in the three months to June was the same as the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in a caution to [...]
Rachel Reeves’ tax raid leads to thousands of job losses as wage growth cools July 17, 2025 Thousands of jobs were lost in June, official data has shown, putting the Bank of England under greater pressure to deal with the consequences of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £20bn tax raid at its next interest rates decision in August. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey has warned that “softening” in the labour market could force rate-setters to [...]
Bank of England looks for jobs data revisions ahead of rate decision July 15, 2025 The Bank of England will be looking out for any revisions to the number of people pushed out of work on Thursday when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes fresh jobs data, with an interest rate decision set to hinge on the extent of the deterioration in the labour market. Last month, the official [...]