The UK labour market and labour market policies

Understand this issue

Big firm, little firm: are differences between companies driving inequality and holding back growth?

podcast

Debates about inequality often focus on inequalities between people. But what about inequalities between firms?

30 August 2023

Don’t cheer end of earnings squeeze: there is more pain to come

comment

Paul Johnson writes for The Times on the pain to come for households and the public finances.

19 June 2023

Still a man’s world? Gender inequalities, parenthood and the workplace

podcast

We ask why the gender pay gap opens up, whether things have improved in recent years, and talk about one key factor affecting women’s pay - kids.

23 August 2023

Policy analysis

Housing costs and income inequality in the UK

report

This report sheds light on some of the drivers of changes in housing costs over time for different groups.

17 November 2023

Housing costs take up three-and-a-half times as much of the budgets of the poor as of the rich, with significant implications for their standard of living

press release

"It is not possible to understand income poverty or inequality without taking account of housing costs."

17 November 2023

The changing geography of jobs

report

This report examines the way in which ‘hollowing out’ and other labour market trends have shaped the economic geography of the UK.

13 November 2023

Academic research

The minimum wages, turnover, and the shape of the wage distribution

working paper

We find that minimum wage hikes don't cause an unusual concentration of job leavers below the new minimum wage, defying neoclassical model prediction.

30 October 2023

The role of privately held firms in income inequality

working paper

We study the role of privately held firms in income inequality in Finland, especially looking at the the role of retained earnings.

29 November 2023

The effect of reducing welfare access on employment, health, and children's long-run outcomes

working paper

We find substantial and heterogeneous employment responses that increased average income despite reduced transfers.

30 October 2023