Businesses shed staff at ‘fastest rate since February’ December 3, 2025 Businesses laid off staff at the fastest rate in nine months as growth in the UK economy suffered a “renewed slowdown”, new data has indicated. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for November suggested growth marginally changed over the month, with researchers pointing the finger at pre-Budget speculation keeping bosses on edge. The composite PMI [...]
Why the ONS would survive my cull of X accounts October 29, 2025 If I had to cull the number of accounts I follow on X to just ten, @ONS would make the grade. As for the other 9, I’d be reluctant to say goodbye to @PaintingsLondon, @MattCartoonist, @createstreets or @DiaperDiplomacy but I reckon as long as I retained the Office for National Statistics I could continue to [...]
Salesforce rolls out new AI tools amid escalating job concerns October 15, 2025 US tech behemoth Salesforce unveiled ‘agentforce 360′ on Tuesday, its latest generative AI platform built to automate repetitive tasks, as concerns around AI’s impact on jobs continue to swirl, and the company itself navigates workforce reductions. Salesforce executives framed the platform as a way to augment rather than replace human workers, providing tools that allow [...]
Bosses’ inflation expectations highest in two years amid employment freeze October 2, 2025 Fears that inflation will remain well above the Bank of England’s two per cent target intensified on Thursday, after a closely watched survey of businesses revealed bosses plan to raise prices at their fastest rate since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British businesses also have the weakest hiring intentions since 2020 with firms expecting [...]
Whitehall pledges skills drive as AI wounds UK’s job market September 23, 2025 The UK government is seeking to strike a balance between the promise and the perils of AI, with ministers insisting they are preparing for a range of outcomnes as the technology reshapes the labour market. Kanisha Narayan, a junior minister at the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), said the administration was “monitoring data [...]
Employment Bill sparks SME fear over costs and red tape September 2, 2025 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have voiced growing concerns over the government’s sweeping Employment Rights Bill, warning that the reforms could place a disproportionate strain on firms already grappling with rising costs and a challenging economic climate. The legislation, billed as the most significant upgrade to workplace protections in a generation, is due for its third reading [...]
Dovish Powell hints at more rate cuts in US August 22, 2025 The Federal Reserve is likely to cut US interest rates at its next decision in September, Jay Powell has said, despite the country’s softening labour market being in conflict with upward pressure in prices from Donald Trump’s tariffs. In an eagerly anticipated address at the Jackson Hole symposium, the Fed chair highlighted slower economic growth, [...]
Wage growth hits five per cent as more jobs shed August 12, 2025 Wage growth hit five per cent June as more jobs were shed due to higher labour costs introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, official data has revealed. Pay growth excluding bonuses in the three months to June was the same as the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in a caution to [...]
Starting pay growth at slowest pace since 2021 August 11, 2025 Pay for new hires rose at the slowest pace in over four years, fresh data has indicated, in signs redundancies and higher taxes are depressing wage growth. The lack of demand among recruiters and the larger number of job seekers in the UK economy has led to starting salary inflation slowing down to its lowest [...]
UK economy sees fastest services orders slowdown since Liz Truss August 5, 2025 Hopes of a quick recovery to the UK economy are fading as orders in the services sector fell at the fastest rate since Liz Truss’ mini-budget in late 2022, fresh data has suggested. S&P Global’s latest composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a fall from a score of 52 in June to 51.5, which remains [...]