Jobs and work

Are the Conservatives right about Labour’s tax plans?

The Conservatives have said that Labour plans to increase the basic rate of income tax to 25%, but that’s not the case. Labour said it won’t raise income tax for those earning less than £80,000.

SNP Manifesto: Productivity and unemployment

The facts about productivity and unemployment in Scotland.

The facts about zero hours contracts

They've been called 'flexible' by some and 'exploitative' by others, but what are zero hour contracts? What rights do people employed on them have? And how many people are on them anyway?

What does “Full Employment” actually mean?

Surprisingly, it’s not simple.

Conservative Manifesto: Employment

We've factchecked claims from Theresa May's speech at the Conservative party manifesto launch.

What is the gig economy?

What is the gig economy and how is it different to zero hours contracts?

Labour Manifesto: Young people getting jobs

We've factchecked claims from Jeremy Corbyn's speech at the Labour party manifesto launch.

Labour Manifesto: Insecure jobs

We've factchecked claims from Jeremy Corbyn's speech at the Labour party manifesto launch.

Labour Manifesto: People earning less than the living wage

We've factchecked claims from Jeremy Corbyn's speech at the Labour party manifesto launch.

How have wages changed over the past decade?

Average wages have fallen and are starting to recover. Even as the average wage fell, many people's wages were going up.

Has employment growth been driven by a rise in insecure, precarious work?

The statistics we’ve seen don’t suggest that.

Are six million people earning less than the living wage?

Close but not quite. Around six million jobs pay less than the voluntary living wage calculated by the Living Wage Foundation.

Have wages fallen in the past ten years?

Adjusted for inflation, the official headline measure of median wages has.

Are one in nine UK workers migrants?

About one in nine were foreign nationals in 2016. About one in six were born outside the UK.

Unemployment under Labour

The number of people unemployed in the UK was higher at the end of the last Labour government than at the start.

Union membership among young people

4% of the UK population aged 16 to 24 were employees and union members in 2015 and 13% of those aged 25 to 34. Overall 9% of employees age 16 to 24 are union members and 20% of all employees age 25 to 34.

Did the Conservatives break a manifesto promise on national insurance?

The 2015 Conservative election manifesto promised not to raise national insurance rates this parliament, but the 2017 budget raised the rate of national insurance contributions paid by some self-employed people.

Women in work: the female employment rate, company boards and the gender pay gap

The UK labour market is getting more equal... but your gender is still a big predictor of your pay packet.

Increasing the state pension age

Changes to the state pension age mean women born in the 1950s will retire later than they expected.

What’s the link between membership of the single market and lower wages?

Whatever the answer is, it won’t be simple.

The disability employment gap

We looked at whether the government’s pledge to halve the disability employment gap won’t be met for 50 years.

Age, motherhood and the gender pay gap

We’ve seen evidence that the pay gap gets bigger when women become mothers, but they don’t seem to have a clear advantage before then.

Robots and the future of your job

Economists at the Bank of England have estimated that just over half of UK jobs could be automated in the next few decades.