The number of workers on zero-hours contracts hits new high of 910,000 – but the rise is slowing March 3, 2017 The number of people on controversial zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) has reached a record high of 910,000. According to the think tank the Resolution Foundation, which analysed data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), a further 110,000 people were added onto these contracts in 2016; nearly 14 per cent more than 2015 and 30 per cent higher [...]
Timid centrist Emmanuel Macron is unlikely to fix a failing France March 3, 2017 Napoleon is said to have preferred lucky generals to clever ones. If true, Emmanuel Macron, the centrist candidate in this year’s French presidential election, would have found an eminent position in the great man’s army. For what else could have propelled this political ingenue who has never held elected office, who lacks a party hinterland, and [...]
Experts aren’t the problem: The problem is conceited experts March 3, 2017 Famously, Michael Gove attacked experts in the EU referendum campaign. And, of course, the experts have fought back, leading Gove to add appropriate context to his remarks. Nobody wants brain surgery from a non-expert. At the same time, there is a paradox. On the one hand, we should use reason to try to improve the [...]
British private sector growth picks up as the UK consumer’s strong form continues March 3, 2017 Private sector growth picked up in February as services geared towards consumers continued to impress, according to a survey of British companies. The balance of firms from across the UK economy reporting growth increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent positive in the three months to February, according to the Confederation of British [...]
US jobless claims fall to 44-year low to strengthen Fed rate rise case even further March 2, 2017 The number of people collecting unemployment benefits in the US fell to its lowest in 44 years, astonishing economists and prompting further expectations of an interest rate hike for the Federal Reserve at its next meeting on 15 March. There were 223,000 jobless claims in the week ending 25 February, a 19,000 fall from the [...]
Higher energy prices drive Eurozone inflation to hit two per cent for the first time in four years March 2, 2017 Eurozone inflation hit two per cent in February, beating the European Central Bank (ECB)’s target for the first time since January 2013. The year-on-year rate of inflation rose from 1.8 per cent in January according to flash estimates from the European Commission. The sharp rise over the months since November has mainly been driven by the [...]
Tinkering with business rates won’t fix a fundamentally broken tax on investment March 2, 2017 Business rates reform is crucial for the health of local communities across the country. Retailers pay a quarter of all business rates and it is the single largest tax paid by the industry. Put simply, the burden of property taxation is too high. It is a disincentive to invest in physical space. A system where [...]
Forget the trivial Single Market: Brexit’s true economic dividend will be a revival of self-reliance and liberty March 2, 2017 In order to understand the long-term impact of Brexit on the UK economy, imagine a river running upstream to downstream and out into the ocean. With this in mind, view conventional long-term economic performance as very much downstream, at the mouth of the river, with an emphasis on the performance of productivity and competitiveness. But [...]
Weak income growth set to hit poor households with children, warns the Institute for Fiscal Studies March 2, 2017 Median household income will not grow at all for the next two years, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has predicted. In a new report published today, the IFS pointed out that if the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)’s forecast for average earnings is correct, median household income will not grow and will be just four [...]
Immigrants add £83bn of economic value to London March 1, 2017 Migrant workers in London with full time jobs each contribute an additional £46,000 net in gross value added (GVA) per year to the economy, research by PwC and London First reveals. A combined total of £83bn for all of London’s 1.8m migrant workers is added, making up approximately 22 per cent of the capital’s GVA. [...]
