Unemployment rate jumps to 4.5% as concern grows about reduction of furlough schemeAnalysis: why there is worse to comeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe number of people being made redundant in the UK has risen at the fastest rate since records began as the economic fallout from Covid-19 and the scaling back of the government’s furlough scheme drives up unemployment.The Office for National Statistics said the number of people being made redundant in the UK almost doubled in the three months to August, increasing by 114,000 to reach 227,000, as the shock from the Covid recession rippled through the jobs market. Continue reading...

13 Oct 2020 16:43 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Report comes a day before World Mental Health Day and calls for four-day working weekCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWomen are being disproportionately affected by a rise in mental health problems caused by increasing workloads as people do their jobs from home amid the pandemic.The length of the working day has increased steadily, resulting in a 49% rise in mental distress reported by employees when compared with 2017-19. Women are bearing the brunt of problems as they juggle work and childcare, according to a report by the 4 Day Week campaign and thinktanks Compass and Autonomy. Continue reading...

09 Oct 2020 12:43 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

UK initiative aims to address ‘painfully slow’ progress in improving racial diversityAviva, Deloitte and Microsoft’s UK business will set fresh ethnicity targets for their boardroom and executive teams, as part of a new drive to address the “painfully slow” progress in improving racial diversity across British business.The companies are among the first signatories to the CBI’s Change the Race Ratio campaign, which will align with – and expand – on targets set by the Parker Review in 2016. Continue reading...

01 Oct 2020 13:09 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Chancellor must use autumn budget to create new roles for workers after furlough scheme ends, says thinktankRishi Sunak has been urged to pump more than £15bn into job creation schemes at the autumn budget to protect 1 million people from unemployment after the furlough scheme comes to an end.Warning that the jobs recovery from the coronavirus pandemic could be weaker than in any of the past three big recessions, the Learning and Work Institute said a dramatic shift in public investment was needed to stimulate employment and avoid lasting damage for unemployed workers. Continue reading...

10 Sep 2020 11:08 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Employer group calls for extra help to prevent ‘lost generation of young people’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageEmployers need more help to prevent a “lost generation” of young people affected by the Covid-19 recession, despite the launch of a £2bn Treasury scheme to boost job creation for under-25s, a lobby group has warned.Against a backdrop of rapid unemployment growth across the country, ministers announced details on Wednesday of how companies can use the “kickstart” programme, which aims to create thousands of new jobs for 16- to 24-year-olds. Continue reading...

01 Sep 2020 23:01 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

The pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on the UK’s telecommunication system. Here we meet some of the women workers helping to keep Britain connected, and hear why the sector needs better gender representationLockdown has placed a huge strain on the country’s telecoms infrastructure. As offices closed, face-to-face meetings with colleagues and clients were replaced by bandwidth-hungry video conferencing.The burden on the country’s internet was so severe, video streamers, including Netflix and Amazon Prime, dialled down quality from high to standard definition. Around the world, virtual meeting app Zoom went from around 56,000 downloads a day to 2.1m on 23 March, the day lockdown was announced in the UK. Continue reading...

03 Aug 2020 09:59 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN