Tag: employment

The Government should hold the line on public sector pay

The independent pay review bodies are reportedly set to recommend pay increases of around 3pc for NHS staff and 4pc for teachers. However, the Government has only budgeted for a 2.8pc increase for public sector workers. This is broadly in line with expected price rises over the coming year, but still higher than the Bank … Continue reading The Government should hold the line on public sector pay →

What to make of today’s UK jobs data

Tuesday’s official data on the state of the UK labour market have been interpreted in several conflicting ways, so here is an attempt to cut through the fog. I took two main points from the figures themselves. First, activity in the labour market continues to cool. I would not pay much attention to the headline … Continue reading What to make of today’s UK jobs data →

Why is the UK short of workers and what should be done about it?

In the good old days, economists could gauge the health of the UK labour market simply by glancing at the unemployment rate. The latest official figure is still just 3.7 per cent, which suggests all is well. Unemployment has not been this low since the early 1970s. Put another way, the vast majority of people … Continue reading Why is the UK short of workers and what should be done about it? →