Category: JOBS

UK payrolled employee estimates data fell by 78,000, or 0.3 per cent between June 2025 and June 2026, pointing to a softer employment backdrop for textile, apparel and retail employers, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On the month, the estimate was largely unchanged, decreasing by 13,000, rounded to 0 per cent, between May and June 2026.For April to June 2026, the number of payrolled employees fell by 86,000, or 0.3 per cent, over the year and by 37,000, or 0.1 per cent, over the quarter, In its Labour market overview, UK: August 2026, ONS said the early estimate for July 2026 decreased by 94,000, or 0.3 per cent, on the year and by 13,000, rounded to 0.0 per cent, on the month, to 30.3 million; the July figure is provisional and is likely to be revised when more data are received next month.UK labour market conditions softened, with payrolled employment falling 0.3 per cent year on year in...

UK businesses are not telling a simple story about AI replacing workers. The sharper point is that AI is creating roles for people with current skills while making the old entry points harder to find. A quarter of UK employers are hiring for AI skills now, and one in five are creating AI-specific roles. According to Lloyds Bank Business Barometer figures reported by Bloomberg on August 17, the survey covered 1,200 UK businesses and found that companies are putting AI into their hiring and training plans, not just their software budgets. Fifty-eight percent plan to spend more over the next year on building AI skills inside their existing workforce. That's the real story. The panic around AI and jobs has been led by American technology companies cutting staff while spending enormous sums on data centers. In Britain, the evidence is messier and more useful for you if you're hiring, looking for work, or trying to work out what skills still carry weight. Compare...

Pound Drops Below 1.3550 As UK Jobs Data Disappoints; CPI Next In Focus Skip to content Home Forex News Pound Drops Below 1.3550 as UK Jobs Data Disappoints; CPI Next in Focus Source link...

A notable surge in job vacancies for delivery drivers, couriers, actors, entertainers, presenters and pest control officers has been seen in recent weeks, new research indicates.Overall, the UK job market saw 1.7 million adverts in June, marking a 9 per cent increase on May and an 11 per cent rise year-on-year, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec).The biggest regional increases were recorded in Anglesey, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and Cheshire.Significant rises were also noted in agriculture, retail, and hospitality roles, which Rec suggests bodes well for summer seasonal hiring.Lorraine Laryea, Rec's chief standards officer, said: "There is a clear uptick in firms taking action on long-held hiring plans. We do need to be careful of seasonal effects, including the two bank holidays in May and the onset of summer hiring in locations like Cornwall, but the general trend is clear."Firms are venturing back to hiring and vacancies are now above pre-Gulf crisis levels.Vacancies for pest control...

M&Co, which was founded in 1834 and operated 168 stores across the UK, owed more than £46 million at the time of its collapse. The clothing retailer closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores across the UK in spring 2023 after going into administration. Newly published documents reveal that more than 600 unsecured creditors will lose more than £33 million, with the case moving from administration to dissolution in June. Adele Macleod, Gavin Park and Robert Harding of Teneo were appointed joint administrators, marking the second time the company had entered administration. M&Co first entered administration during the pandemic, resulting in the loss of 47 stores and 380 jobs. The company was bought back by the founding family, but administrators were once again appointed in 2022. In their latest report, the administrators said: “We adjudicated all claims received and...

This risks leaving firms without people to promote into management positions in a few years. But for now, a tough economic backdrop and open questions over how AI will reshape the workplace are keeping employers focused on reducing costs.AI has raised the stakes of taking your first step up the career ladder - and made it tougher and costlier than ever.Georgie Blackburn, a Gloucestershire-based career coach, is one of the few beneficiaries. In a two-decade career advising everyone from senior executives to military leavers, she says most of her clients today are young people fresh out of university, up from just one in 10 two years ago.“I have seen it as a growth area for my business,” said Blackburn, whose early-careers services can cost up to £750 ($1,010) and may direct people to volunteer work, internships or online courses to build experience. “A degree is not enough on its own, never has been, but even more so today.”The situation is...

Modified: Tuesday, 18 August 2026 23:46 BST - Written by James Fuller ...

M&Co, founded in 1834, had 168 stores across the UK and owed more than £46 million when it collapsed. The retailer, which operated 168 stores across the UK, shut all its shops in spring 2023, including branches in Penrith and Whitehaven. M&Co previously entered administration during the pandemic, resulting in 47 store closures and 380 job losses. The company was later bought back by its founding family, but entered administration again in 2022. The Penrith store, located in the New Squares shopping area, closed in December 2022. The site was later taken over by The Original Factory Shop, which opened in September 2023. The Whitehaven branch, at 57/60 King Street, was also among the stores to close during the 2023 shutdown. More than 600 unsecured creditors are set to lose more than £33 million after the closure of M&Co, the fashion chain that went into administration in late 2022. A report from...

Private sector wage growth has fallen to its weakest level since the Covid pandemic, as new figures reveal mounting pressure on Britain’s jobs market. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday show that annual growth in regular private sector earnings slowed to 2.8 per cent in the three months to June 2026. By comparison, regular earnings growth in the public sector stood at 6.1 per cent over the same period. The ONS has cautioned that public sector figures continue to be affected by differences in the timing of pay awards this year. Across the economy as a whole, annual growth in regular earnings, excluding bonuses, was 3.5 per cent in the three months to June, while total earnings including bonuses increased by 4.1 per cent. The latest figures also show that unemployment remained at 4.9 per cent among people aged 16 and over during April to June. The rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than a year earlier, although it...

M&Co, which was founded in 1834 and operated 168 stores across the UK, owed more than £46 million at the time of its collapse. The clothing retailer closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores across the UK in spring 2023 after going into administration, including past local branches in places like Didcot, Abingdon, and Kidlington Newly published documents reveal that more than 600 unsecured creditors will lose more than £33 million, with the case moving from administration to dissolution in June. Adele Macleod, Gavin Park and Robert Harding of Teneo were appointed joint administrators, marking the second time the company had entered administration. M&Co first entered administration during the pandemic, resulting in the loss of 47 stores and 380 jobs. The company was bought back by the founding family, but administrators were once again appointed in 2022. In their latest report, the administrators said: “We adjudicated all claims received and subsequently admitted 608 claims for...