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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...

Job vacancies have fallen to 707,000, their lowest level in more than five years.Small businesses say rising labour and operating costs are making recruitment harder.Private sector pay growth has slowed to its weakest level in almost six years.Finding a new job in Britain could be getting harder as employers become more cautious about hiring and the number of available vacancies falls to its lowest level in more than five years.The UK recorded 707,000 job vacancies between May and July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The slight fall from the previous period points to a labour market where businesses are becoming less willing to add workers as the cost of employing them continues to rise.For people already in work, that could mean a less forgiving market when it comes to changing jobs, negotiating higher pay or finding new opportunities. For those trying to enter the workforce, fewer vacancies could make the search even more competitive.The unemployment rate remained...

(Aug 2): UK employers are creating jobs for experienced staff with artificial intelligence (AI) skills and cutting back elsewhere, according to new figures that show how the technology is starting to create a two-track labour market. Software developers, whose profession has been transformed by AI and suffered dramatic job losses since 2022, are back in demand with postings rising 14%. Much of the increase came from senior roles and those directly linked to AI. Meanwhile, occupations such as IT and engineering, where AI enhances the value of experience by taking over routine tasks, are among the few that have held up since last summer. Elsewhere, from retail and manufacturing to white-collar roles that are more vulnerable to substitution like accounting or marketing, vacancies have fallen by double digits as employers take action to cope with higher employment costs and a more volatile economy.“The UK labor market is increasingly splitting into two speeds,” said Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed. “Demand is concentrating around experienced...

Wage growth in the UK slowed in June and vacancies hit a five-year low as workers came under pressure from a renewed cost of living squeeze amid the economic impact from the Iran war.Figures from the Office for National Statistics show average growth in total earnings, including bonuses, fell to 4.1% in the three months to June, down from 4.4% in the three months to May.The pay slowdown could deter the Bank of England from raising interest rates this year, some economists suggested.Liz McKeown, the ONS director of economic statistics, said the data showed “some softening” in the jobs market despite a broadly unchanged picture overall, in a potential sign of stabilisation after a sharper slowdown earlier this year.“Regular wage growth has remained broadly stable in recent months. However, private sector pay growth has continued to ease, while public sector pay growth remains elevated due to the timing of the latest NHS pay awards,” she added.Pay growth excluding bonuses strengthened...

"With economic uncertainty so high, and payroll taxes increasingly onerous, it's not surprising many UK employers are staying cautious, and unwilling to take the risk of hiring new staff," said Susannah Streeter (pictured right), chief investment strategist at non-advisory investment broker Wealth Club. The latest ONS labour market figures also showed that regular pay growth edged up to 3.5% in the year to June, from 3.4% previously, remaining above both inflation and the Bank of England's 2% target. Streeter noted the increase was largely driven by higher pay settlements in the public sector, though private sector employers could face pressure to match those deals. She warned that policymakers would monitor closely whether higher payroll costs were being passed through to the prices of goods and services. Regular wage growth in the three months to June 2026 was 3.5% excluding bonuses, up on the previous period.Including bonuses the rate was 4.1%, down from the previous period.Read the release ➡ https://t.co/8FKHMf2iHI pic.twitter.com/FyDXTJyGTT — Office for National...

The British Pound (GBP) is down 0.1% to near 1.3530 against the US Dollar (USD) during the European trading session on Tuesday. The British currency comes under pressure after the release of the United Kingdom (UK) employment data for three months ending June.UK labour data underline cool jobs market and limited BoE hike impetusAnalysts at ING characterise the latest UK labour figures as offering “nothing particularly earth-shattering,” but still reinforcing a picture of a cooling jobs market. They note that “payrolled employment is down a touch,” while cautioning that this headline masks “big differences between government (which is still actively hiring), consumer services (where job numbers are consistently falling and the pace of decline is getting worse) and the remaining private sector, which is flatlining.”ING also points out that “the unemployment rate is up a touch,” though they stress that the Office for National Statistics has already flagged “temporary sampling issues with the labour force survey underpinning it (on top...

The headline unemployment figure remains unchanged in the three months to the end of June 2026. Wage growth continued to slow in the UK in June while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9% in the three months to the end of June 2026, representing a 0.3 percentage point increase from the previous year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also indicated growth in total earnings – including bonuses – fell to 4.1% over the three-month period, down from 4.3% in the three months to May. Meanwhile, job vacancies dropped and the number of workers on company payrolls fell by 13,000, while the number of those unemployed for between six to 12 months increased over the year and on the quarter.   Felix Feather, economist at Aberdeen, said the latest labour market figures point to a softening UK jobs market, in particular highlighting that regular private-sector pay growth also eased to 2.8% from 2.9% previously. He said: “Broadly, the labour market has been...

That disconnect is clearly visible in wage growth. Pay is rising by 6.1% across government, compared to just 2.8% in the private sector. Admittedly, that latter figure is being slightly depressed by “compositional” effects, something the BoE is keen to point out. This is a slightly weird quirk that’s emerged in the survey underpinning those wage figures, which show a rise in low-paid employment relative to higher-paid jobs (the opposite of what the more reliable payroll data described above), and which is skewing the average level of pay growth lower. Strip that out, and private-sector pay would be 0.4ppt higher. Still, the basic story here is that the jobs market is cool. We can see that in the vacancy numbers, which are still gradually falling and are well down on pre-Covid levels. We can see that in the unemployment rate, notwithstanding the latest reliability issues. And crucially for the Bank of England, there is little sign that wage growth is about...

Today's jobs figures give Bank of England officials little reason to think about raising rates any time soon. Job vacancies are falling, earnings growth is cooling, payroll numbers continue to shrink, and unemployment remains stubbornly stuck at around 5%.In short, the labour market shows clear signs of slack rather than tightening, which should keep a lid on wage pressures. Inflation, meanwhile, remains on a broadly disinflationary path, with still no meaningful evidence of second-round effects filtering through into wages or prices.Put it all together, and we don't see the conditions in place for the MPC to consider tightening policy this year. The one wildcard remains the war in Iran - but with oil prices already reflecting a degree of optimism, we don't think this poses a serious enough upside risk to change that picture.We expect the MPC to hold rates steady for the rest of the year, before they are cut at some point in 2027. This could act to...

AI Growth Zone to support more than 3,400 jobs and attract major new investment to Lanarkshire – supporting the drive for good growth in every postcode National Wealth Fund providing financial backing for DataVita’s landmark £300 million plan to expand Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone Dell Technologies to also base their Scottish team at Lanarkshire AI Innovation Park, creating high-skilled jobs More jobs, investment and training opportunities are on the way for Lanarkshire as the AI Growth Zone secures a landmark £300 million investment package and Dell Technologies announces it will establish a base in the area. The announcements today (Tuesday 18th August) are a major boost for Lanarkshire and Scotland, demonstrating how the UK Government’s AI Growth Zones are building a Britain that is better off: supporting a stronger economy, good jobs and reindustrialisation in communities right across the UK. The wider development is expected to support more than 3,400 jobs, alongside skills and training opportunities to help local people access careers in technology, engineering, construction and the growing AI sector.  Artificial intelligence is already helping scientists develop new medicines, helping businesses become more productive and...