As Russia re-elected Putin this weekend, the impact on the UK is being seen in more ways than one. Already, Grant Schapps is talking about the need for further defence spending as we move from a post-war to a pre-war world. Meanwhile, the avenues for money to be funnelled into London are slowly closing, and the determination to minimize access is clear. The decision to double the economic crime levy for very large companies from April, to £500,000 per institution is a reflection of that.
Government pressure on public sector spending sees vacancies drop. At the last count it was estimated there were nearly 5.9m people employed in the public sector, where just as importantly, that number has grown significantly over the last seven years.
For retail and consumer goods and services, 2023 has proven to be a challenging year. The impact of the changes to VAT has meant that as tourism has returned, the luxury goods sector has flatlined, despite London having more tourists than ever. At the same time, quantitative tightening has resulted in challenges to household liquidity, which has meant there has been downward pressure on disposable incomes.
First ARM relists to the NASDAQ and sees their share price double since their IPO. Now more companies are being targeted as the UK struggles to compete in a new world order, where it is no longer able to operate as the financial services capital of the EU.
This week, it was reported that the economic downturn in Q4 had meant the UK is in recession. Hardly the news Sunak needed on the eve of two by-elections. Hunt was quick off the mark talking about the fact that overall the economic indicators are positive looking ahead, which is fair comment, equally the fact salary inflation remains high, has led to suggestions that any hope of interest rates coming down in the first half of the year are fanciful.
Next Tuesday sees the launch of our annual magazine, in which we are focusing on the transformation happening in the labour market as a result of technology.