Ahead of Reeves delivering what most people assume will be her final Mansion House speech we’ve been looking at the data on how the economic picture has changed over the past two years. What is Reeves’ legacy?
Charlie McCurdy
@charliemccurdy.bsky.social
Economist @ resolution foundation covering jobs, demographic change and regional inequalities.
Today PM-in-waiting Andy Burnham MP says he wants to raise living standards in every postcode of the UK. But what is the state of regional inequality and living standards across the country? Earlier RF research found a mixed picture – some important progress, some firmly entrenched gaps 🧵 👇
New birth registration stats show that being childless at 30 is increasingly becoming the norm. Importantly, it’s too soon to know whether the recent fall in births will result in permanently fewer children or whether young people today will have (more) children later in life.
This week, the ONS published their 2024-based population projections. One huge shift expected to arrive this year is that the number of births is set to fall below deaths. Our latest Substack considers what this means for public services and the economy➡️ buff.ly/DZEzpbc
New #ONS estimates of #families and #households in the #UK, up to 2025, were released today (www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...). The most eye-catching finding is the trend towards living with parents, especially so for young men. Here’s a thread with some key takeaways 🧵:
Families and households in the UK - Office for National Statistics
Estimates of families (with and without children) and household types, including people living alone in the UK in 2025.
ons.gov.uk
JUST PUBLISHED – From costs to culture: what’s behind falling fertility in rich countries? By @ann-berrington.bsky.social & Hill Kulu
From costs to culture: what’s behind falling fertility in rich countries? - Economics Observatory
Fertility rates have fallen rapidly in the UK and other high-income countries in recent years. Education, economic uncertainty and changing gender roles are among the factors that have played a part.…
buff.ly
Kicking off at our event, Charlie McCurdy highlights why a Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care is sorely needed: care workers provide a huge amount of value to society, and lots of aspects of the job are rewarding…
New net migration figures show that international net-migration falls to 204k (like 2000s average). Partly reflects ONS revisions to how they calculate the figure. This is a big difference compared to the latest ONS projections, which don't forecast impact of policy or use the latest data.
Today’s data show that a weakening jobs market is feeding through into pay. Depressing stat of the day: real weekly wages have increased by just £1.50 since Sep 2024. Here is our thread (from me and @hannahslaughter.bsky.social).
Today’s ONS data show a labour market continuing to cool, but there are signs of calming after a jobs crunch in the first part of 2025. Here is our thread (fom me and @charliemccurdy.bsky.social) Standout stat if you can't make it to the end: real wages haven't grown since October
DO NOT EXTEND ILR WAITING TIME TO TEN YEARS DEFINITELY DO NOT CHANGE THE RULES ON PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY HERE YOU TOTAL LUNATICS Long, measuredband balanced from @benansell.bsky.social on how to reform the immigration system (fwiw I mostly agree). benansell.substack.com/p/select-and...
Select and Respect
How to create a UK immigration policy that can command public support
benansell.substack.com
New UC data out today shows that more than a third (37%) of all UC claimants are in receipt of UC health, up from 32% this time last year. Here’s a short @resfoundation.bsky.social thread, with @benbgeiger.bsky.social, summarising the key takeaways...
Home office statistics for year to June 2025 Visas are 852k in 2024-25 (Peaked 1.4 million in 2023) Year in year Work visas down 36% [21k health/care visas; peaked 200k] Study visas down 4% Study dependent visas down 81% Family visas down 23% Asylum claims up 14% www.gov.uk/government/s...
Summary of latest statistics
gov.uk
The ONS released new NEETs data this morning, suggesting that almost a million (948k) 16-24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training. Although LFS issues mean that we shouldn't put too much weight on these figures, there are reasons to be concerned about trends in youth employment...
New ONS population data covering England and Wales up to the middle of 2024. Killer chart from @georginasturge.bsky.social shows population growth has been going gangbusters in recent years, growing at a higher rate than any period since the World Wars. More below👇
The Government will struggle to reach its 80% employment target without getting more disabled people into work. Here’s a thread – based on today’s @resfoundation.bsky.social report with @benbgeiger.bsky.social – on how better employer incentives can help get us there...
New ONS estimates of families and household types for 2024 today (caveat: it's based on LFS that despite improvements remains a bit shakey). Some interesting takeaways below... www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
Families and households in the UK - Office for National Statistics
Estimates of families (with and without children) and household types, including people living alone in the UK in 2024.
ons.gov.uk
Today’s labour market stats shows that the jobs market is continuing to weaken, with signs that pay growth may also be slowing. Our take below (h/t @nyecominetti.bsky.social)
New report today asks: where next for the Govts. employment reforms? One of biggest elements of the bill is hours insecurity - something that could help millions of workers - but key details are missing. Here are our thoughts and suggestions www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Low Pay Britain 2025 • Resolution Foundation
This year’s Low Pay Britain report – the 15th in an annual series taking stock of low-paid work in the UK –takes on three important questions as the ERB heads towards becoming law. First, we look at t...
resolutionfoundation.org
Migration has grown substantially in recent years – but today’s data shows net migration fell sharply in 2024. Here’s a quick fact-based thread on what’s happening. www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
Long-term international migration, provisional - Office for National Statistics
Estimates of UK long-term international migration, year ending June 2012 to year ending December 2024.
ons.gov.uk
Today’s labour market statistics - the last snapshot before the start of the new financial year - point to a falling employment rate and pay growth that might be starting to weaken. Here’s our @resfoundation.bsky.social thread (from me and @charliemccurdy.bsky.social)...