The Chancellor has this afternoon delivered his Spring Budget and there’s good news for the professional recruitment sector. The ‘back to work’ ethos underlying much of the Budget should be a boon to recruiters, as should investment and reliefs focused on key professional sectors, such as finance, life sciences, nuclear and AI.Here are some highlights and key points for businessTaxation and wagesCap on amount workers can accumulate in pensions savings over their lifetime before … [Read more...]
Job adverts at a new record high
The number of job vacancies is currently at a new record high, indicating that the labour market is still yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.Between 4th-10th October there were a record 2.29 million job adverts available in the UK. In the same week, there were around 235,000 new job postings – the second-highest weekly figure since data began.Wales is currently a hotspot for hiring, with four out of the UK’s top 10 most active cities for new jobs. Swansea in particular saw … [Read more...]
Calls for Universal Credit uplift to be made permanent
Ministers from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have called the UK Government to make the Universal Credit uplift a permanent change.As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government introduced a £20 per week uplift to support low income families. However, this scheme is now set to be scrapped as of October. There are growing concerns about the impact this will have on poverty and the hardship families will face.Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (a charity which … [Read more...]
Self-employment driven by higher earners, says report
The rapid growth of self-employment in the UK has been driven more by people in higher-paid than low-paid work, according to a new report. The analysis comes from the Resolution Foundation, an economic think-tank.It says the "privileged" self-employed, with good educational qualifications and higher earnings, made up 57% of the growth in self-employment after 2009.Among them were people working in law, accountancy, health services and management consultancy.The think tank says they … [Read more...]