Author: julianhjessop

Sense checking the Chancellor’s £25bn

Rishi Sunak is warning that a one percentage point increase in the interest rates paid on government debt could add £25bn to the annual debt interest bill. Does this stack up? And how worried should we be? For a start, the £25bn figure is factually correct. There has been some confusion about this on Twitter, … Continue reading Sense checking the Chancellor’s £25bn →

Some heretical thoughts on youth unemployment

The latest official data on the UK labour market were mostly reassuring, but younger workers have still borne the brunt of the job losses during the pandemic. How big a concern is this? And what, if anything, should be done about it? Let’s begin with the headline numbers. The latest increase in total unemployment, to … Continue reading Some heretical thoughts on youth unemployment →