{"id":7783,"date":"2016-02-18T16:46:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T16:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=7783"},"modified":"2016-02-19T14:29:35","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T14:29:35","slug":"decline-and-stagnation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=7783","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Decline and stagnation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The government hailed employment figures published yesterday (February 17) that showed the jobless rate hit an all-time low of 5.1 per cent.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAt a time when we are seeing the number of workless households at its lowest ever, this is further proof that our economic and welfare reforms are delivering more security,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut a deeper look at the labour market data shows that, although more and more people have jobs, employment is not delivering the so-called security that the work secretary has lauded. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because wage growth has consistently slowed down each month as 2015 wound to a close.<\/p>\n

 
\nIt is part of a more long-term trend that the TUC highlighted last month<\/a> in an analysis that showed working people have faced nearly a decade of lost wages to the tune of \u00c2\u01412270 each year.<\/p>\n

 
\nLoss of \u00c2\u014144 a week<\/strong><\/em>
\nSince 2008, the analysis showed, workers have lost on average \u00c2\u014144 each week in real terms. While wages increased between 2014 and 2015 for the first time in years, the pay growth slowdown began in earnest last year and again was reflected in yesterday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s figures.<\/p>\n

 
\nAnd, if continued growth forecasts are correct, it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be until at least 2018 when real earnings return to its 2007 peak.<\/p>\n

 
\nTUC senior economist Geoff Tilly explained<\/a> just how unprecedented this trend of lost earnings was.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNever before in the history I have readily accessible (for which figures extend back to the 1850s) has such a period of decline and stagnation had to be endured,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe only era remotely comparable episode was around the 1920s,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Tilly added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is a terrifying precedent, covering the economic chaos at the end of the First World War, the disastrous return to the gold standard in 1925, the great depression that began in 1930 and the disastrous \u00e2\u20ac\u0098May Committee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 spending cuts that were imposed in the face of that depression.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nA new Resolution Foundation analysis <\/a>earlier this week shows also that living standards for most people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and particularly the poorest \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will likely suffer even further over the course of the present parliament, due largely to government policies.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Huge uncertainties\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong><\/em>
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are huge uncertainties surrounding the future path of living standards,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said chief economist for the Resolution Foundation Matthew Whittaker. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe pace of recovery is likely to slow over the remainder of the parliament. Substantial benefit cuts will bear down most heavily on poorer households, with many seeing their incomes fall as a result.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nThe analysis also highlighted that a substantial number of the 1.5m net new jobs created since 2008 that the government has crowed about are mostly insecure \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just under half of these new jobs are self-employed, while a full third are part-time.<\/p>\n

 
\nWhile the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has previously supported chancellor George Osborne\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s austerity agenda, today (February 18) it warned<\/a> that a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bstronger collective policy response is needed to strengthen demand\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany countries have room for fiscal expansion to strengthen demand,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the OECD noted in its interim report, which cut growth forecasts it made three months ago. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis should focus on policies with strong short-run benefits and that also contribute to long-term growth.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary Steve Turner argued that labour market data released each month and vigorously trumpeted by the government masks the true nature of the so-called recovery.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis government continues to ignore and distract from the bigger picture,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhile yes, more people are now in work, this has not translated into consistently higher wages. Instead, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had an unprecedented decade of lost earnings because of their policies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a situation that can only be recovered by sustained economic growth with a plan to create decent work with better wages.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd as more and more experts have pointed out, working people are in for more pain over the course of this parliament if the government fails to understand the reality that austerity cuts will completely destroy the fragile economic upturn \u00e2\u20ac\u201c austerity has not restored sustainable economic growth so far; it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t about to start.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat we need now \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as the OECD pointed out only today \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is more public investment to increase economic growth and improve living standards. Carrying on with an austerity agenda that flies in the face of all evidence showing what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good for the economy is proof that the government is motivated only by a perverse ideology.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The government hailed employment figures published yesterday (February 17) that showed the jobless rate hit an all-time low of 5.1 per cent.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAt a time when we are seeing the number of workless households at its lowest ever, this is further proof that our economic and welfare reforms are delivering more security,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[191,165],"wps_subtitle":"Jobs might be up \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but so is low wage pain ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7783"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7784,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783\/revisions\/7784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}