March 19, 2021
Search Results for: labour market
March 15, 2021
Serfs up for the self-employed and gig economy workers (and the middle class)
One of the most significant consequences of the 2008 economic crash was a remarkable shift in the nature of employment. The recession led to a surge in the number of people categorised as self-employed. The numbers have been increasing ever since, albeit at a lower rate. By the end of 2019, the number of self-employed people in the UK exceeded five million people for the first time. Fifteen percent of the workforce. More →
Progress for women in work could be back at 2017 levels by the end of this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to analysis conducted for 
February 22, 2021
Employment intentions at their strongest in a year
UK employers are reporting their strongest employment intentions in a year, the latest CIPD/Adecco Labour Market Outlook claims. The survey’s net employment intentions figure, which measures the difference between the proportion of employers expecting to add jobs and those planning to cut positions, rose to +11 this quarter – its highest in a year. This compares to -1 in the previous quarter. More →
February 18, 2021
Two million people in the UK have not worked for at least six months
Almost two million workers were unemployed or fully furloughed in January – and had been for at least six months – highlighting the scale of lasting damage to the UK’s labour force that will need to be addressed in the Budget, according to major new research published today by the Resolution Foundation. Long Covid in the labour market – supported by the Health Foundation – examines the state of the labour market during the current lockdown, the cumulative impact of the longer than expected crisis so far, and workers’ prospects for the months ahead as the economy starts to recover. More →
January 22, 2021
Low paid workers have borne the brunt of the pandemic
New analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies has found that low paid workers are more than twice as likely to have lost their jobs during the pandemic and are at far greater risk of being temporarily laid off or having their hours cut. The research, funded by Standard Life Foundation, concludes that in this current lockdown it is likely that around two thirds of low paid workers – or four million people – are either temporarily laid off or working fewer hours than normal. This would be double the rate of work disruption for staff who are not classified as low paid. More →
January 21, 2021
Furlough scheme should be extended ahead of the Budget, says CIPD
With six weeks still to go until the Chancellor’s Budget, the CIPD is urging the Government to act early to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs, support incomes and enhance skills development. Its calls are outlined in a report called The Future of Furlough – Recommendations for now and for any future wage subsidy. In order to support smaller firms who don’t pay an apprenticeship levy, the CIPD is also recommending the creation of a furlough scheme training fund of up to £100 million, which would be funded from levy-paying firms’ expired levy funds that would otherwise go to HM Treasury. The CIPD estimates that this could pay for training or outplacement skills development support for nearly 160,000 workers in small firms. More →
January 12, 2021
Employers failing to tackle age bias in recruitment
Employers are failing to identify and tackle potential age bias in their recruitment process, with most employers interviewed not seeing it as a ‘problem’ in their organisation, according to a new report by the Centre for Ageing Better. More →
December 16, 2020
Less than half of employers plan to take on a young person next year
Only 46 percent of employers plan to hire a young person between the age of 16 and 24 in the next year despite new Government incentives to do so, a report from the CIPD suggests. Over 1,000 employers were surveyed for the CIPD’s COVID-19 and the youth labour market report which examines the likely impact of new incentives to boost provision of traineeships, apprenticeships, and six-month work placements through the Kickstart scheme – as outlined in the ‘Plan for Jobs’, which was presented to Parliament in July 2020. More →
November 25, 2020
Maternity leave causes women to lose out on £3.2 billion
Women taking maternity leave collectively lose out on £3.2bn worth on earnings, a fall of nearly half their average annual salary, claims new research from Direct Line Life Insurance. More →
November 16, 2020
Millions will struggle to access the Government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee
New analysis published by the Work Foundation and Totaljobs claims that millions of low paid workers will struggle to access the Government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee (LSG) when it is launched next year amidst a growing jobs challenge. More →
November 9, 2020
Working from home could energise some of our overlooked cities
by Michel Serafinelli • Cities, Comment, Flexible working