A small increase in interest rates could leave over a million households facing debt problems, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation.
The Resolution Foundation, who campaign on behalf of those on low and middle incomes in order to improve living standards found that around 600,000 households in the UK are already facing ‘debt peril’. However, this could increase to 1.1 million in the event of a ‘relatively benign’ rise in interest rates.
The student loan system is at its “tipping point” and is in need of an “urgent review”, according to a report from a group of MPs.
The report, which was produced by the Business, Innovation and Select Skills Committee, claimed that the situation is so bad that the “continued existence” of the student loans system may be under threat.
Unemployment figures in the UK have been given a huge boost as they returned to the benchmark low set in 2005.
The number of people without a job fell by 121,000 in the three months to May and they now stand at 2.12 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Bank of England has been warned against increasing interest rates in the short term by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has recently stated that interest rates could be increased “sooner than markets currently expect”.
The number of graduate job opportunities has increased by 12% over the last 12 months, according to a report.
The figures are particularly significant, as it means the graduate job market has recovered to the same level as before the recession in 2007, when employment opportunities fell by 23.3% up to 2009.
The average worker in the UK is most likely to see their earnings peak in their late 30s according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A 29 year old worker in the UK had an average wage of £13.93 an hour in 2013, the highest wage of every age range.
The government has been urged by the Living Wage Commission to set a target of drastically cutting the number of workers earning less than the â??living wageâ??.
They said that the government should aim to cut the number of low paid workers by one million people, as early as 2020.
Employment opportunities for young and low-skilled workers are deteriorating “rapidly”, a report has claimed.
The report, which was released by Trades Union Congress (TUC), described the employment situation for youths outside of full-time education as “alarming”.
Universal Credit is set to be rolled out across 90 jobcentres in the north-west of England, according to work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith.
The government’s flagship welfare policy is currently in place at just 10 job centres in the UK, however, a gradual roll out will now be implemented as early as next week, after being delayed several times.
Inflation fell to 1.5% in May 2014 in comparison with 1.8% the previous month; making it the sixth consecutive month where the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was recorded below the Bank of England’s target rate of 2%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the key drivers of the reduced rate of inflation included falling flight costs as well as a steep reduction in the costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
