Monday Blog: How precarious is new work?
Suppose you plan to take out a bank loan or mortgage … the first question you will be asked relates to your salary slip or income statement. But, what if you don’t know for sure what your income is next week let alone next year? Many self-employed workers find themselves in this situation. And, a...
Monday Blog: UK 'Living Wage' move announced
It is estimated that around 166,700 employees, or 23% of the total in Northern Ireland earned below £7.20 per hour in April 2014. On the face of it, UK Chancellor, George Osborne's announcement that the UK minimum wage would rise to £7.20 by next year is good news for many of these workers. In the...
The impact of precarious work on wages, productivity and economic growth
Temporary, short-term forms of employment in the early stages of an economic recovery are a well-established feature of the labour market; however, recent research by the OECD has raised the concern that this practice has become a more deeply ingrained, lasting characteristic in the world of work...
Monday Blog - Review of 2013
This week's blog looks back at articles from 2013: Title Date Main Keyword Other Keywords Economic Development with a purpose 23-Dec Vision Taxation, Public spending, Jobs Where to now (Post-Troika)? 16-Dec Domestic economy Taxation, Vision, Jobs A Modest Proposal 09-Dec Investment Jobs, Domestic...
Monday Blog - Review of 2014
This week's blog looks back at articles from 2014: Ageing well 22-Dec Demographics Pensions, Social wage The Wages Elephant is in the Domestic Parlour 15-Dec Wages Macro economy, Social wage Imagining a different society 08-Dec Vision Investment, Social wage Things you always wanted to know about...
Working, yet living below the poverty line: ‘The Working Poor’
One in every seven of the Irish population (15.2%) lives on an income which is less than the official poverty line – about €202 per adult per week. Given a population of approximately 4.61 million people this implies that just over 700,000 people live at risk of poverty. In the latest edition of the...
Monday Blog—Review of 2015 so far
I am on leave for the next few weeks, so this Monday blog recaps on the topics covered over the opening half of the year. An economy that works for the people 13 July Vision Taxation, Social wage, Investment Emigration has taken its toll 6 July Emigration Demography, Young workers, Social capital...
2016 Living Wage: no change, yet lots of change
The 2016 Living Wage for the Republic of Ireland has been calculated by the Living Wage Technical Group. It is €11.50 per hour. The rate is unchanged from 2015. Over the past year there have been decreases in living costs for most items included in the living wage calculation. However, these...
Living Wage 2015 €11.50 per hour
The 2015 Living Wage has been calculated by the Living Wage Technical Group. It is €11.50 per hour. The new figure represents an increase of 5c per hour over the 2014 rate (€11.45). The increase has been driven by changes in the cost of living and changes in the taxation system over the past year...
Monday Blog: Emigration has taken its toll
Significant progress has been made in reducing the overall rate of unemployment in the Republic of Ireland since 2012 when it peaked at one in seven in the workforce. Still, the overall rate remains close to one in ten and is double that in the case of persons under the age of 26. As in previous...