economy

Low-to-middle earners suffer 5.4 per cent drop in average salaries

The 2010 ‘Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings’ data released today by the ONS shows that the median annual salary earned by all workers fell by 0.4 per cent in nominal terms from £21,310 in 2009 to £21,221 in 2010. Once inflation is taken into account (RPI increased by 5.3 per cent between April 2009 and April 2010, which is the date the ASHE survey relates to), stagnation turns to significant contraction, with the median salary falling by a sizeable 5.4 per cent.

Economic update – December 2010

There is a widespread view that future growth in the UK economy will be more sustainable if it is driven by net exports and business investment and not by household spending. The third quarter GDP numbers provided mixed news for supporters of this view.

Real wages set to fall for three years

A new report shows that cuts, rising inflation and stagnating pay will make lower middle classes £720 a year worse off. It shows that wages will fall in real terms until 2013.

Immigration was a factor, but it did not cost Labour the election

As the government announces its new immigration cap today, some in Labour may be tempted to re-visit the thesis that a tougher policy on immigration could have saved the party from electoral defeat in 2010. The idea that immigration played a critical and negative role for Labour in the general election is now well established; the evidence, however, simply does not support such a position.

Now the coalition wants to cut its meagre bank levy

So much remains in doubt on bonuses. But what we know for sure is that the Treasury’s entire bank levy revenue estimates between 2011-2014 were made when bonus payments were anticipated to be higher than they had been in 2008. And the idea that the banks should be offered another sop when they should be paying for the mess they created simply demonstrates where this conservative coalition’s priorities lie.

Home secretary forced to “water down” immigration speech

The Financial Times reports today that home secretary Teresa May was forced to “water down” her first major speech on immigration last week, after an intervention from Downing Street and business secretary Vince Cable. Unnamed sources within the government told the FT that May’s original speech was “over the top” – with particular objections to passages which attacked the level of Tier 1 visas.