The latest ONS data suggest that labour productivity – previously seen as the UK economy’s weak spot – has been revived. It appears this has been driven, in part, by less productive sectors shrinking and more productive sectors adopting new technology. Productivity is one of the big economic questions in the UK. The amount workers […]
Category: Data stories
As immunisation against Covid-19 begins in the UK, concerns about the safety and long-term effects of the vaccine – against a backdrop of global misinformation about vaccines – are affecting the public’s willingness to participate, particularly among the most vulnerable. This week, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first person in the UK to be inoculated against […]
On Wednesday morning, many Americans are going to wake up to a presidential election result that they viewed as inconceivable. This could translate into widespread economic pessimism, putting further downward pressure on an already struggling economy. Voters in the United States are increasingly divided, and believe that it is highly unlikely that their preferred candidate […]
Global stock markets surged on 9 November when Pfizer and BioNTech announced the development of a vaccine estimated to be 90% effective. But there has been considerable variation in the impact of the news on the share prices of different companies and sectors. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March caused global stock markets […]
Jobs that rely on face-to-face customer service are particularly vulnerable to government restrictions on social interactions. With England’s new tier system, it is likely that places where lots of people are employed in this kind of work will face further economic hardship. On 2 December 2020, the national lockdown in England comes to an end […]
The latest UK redundancy numbers are bad, but they’re not really a record high as they don’t account for changes in the size of the workforce over time. Today’s redundancy rate is still off the dark days of the 2008 downturn – and not remotely close to the experiences of the 1980s. The Employment in […]
The pandemic highlights the links between public health and the economy. The combined damage to people’s health, jobs and incomes could disproportionately affect areas that were struggling even before the crisis, many of which experienced localised lockdowns. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to confront something we already knew. People’s health, education, housing, income and […]
While the furlough scheme has protected many jobs in the UK, recent data show an increase in unemployment. In particular, young people (aged 18-24) have been disproportionately likely to suffer from a reduction in employment during the pandemic. In the UK, one of the key economic stories of Covid-19 and the lockdown response has been […]
UK vacancies collapsed during the Covid-19 crisis. Recent data suggest that they may be back on the rise, if only to levels seen in the 2008-11 recession. But while this trend is welcome, it is unusual that vacancies are now rising alongside growing unemployment. With the latest labour market data confirming the continued increase in […]
Categories
Is football coming home?
England football fans are starting to sing ‘It’s coming home’; while followers of Scotland and Wales hope their teams can cause a few shocks at Euro 2020. But the chances of these outcomes are slim, despite what’s suggested by the bookmakers’ odds. The delayed UEFA European Football Championship starts today, 11 June 2021. The media […]