RISING PRICES SEE REGULAR PAY DROP AT FASTEST RATE IN A DECADE

High inflation is resulting in regular pay falling at the fastest rate in more than a decade, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said (BBC News). 

Between February and April, pay excluding bonuses was 2.2 per cent lower than a year earlier when adjusted for inflation. However, pay including bonuses is outpacing price rises, increasing by 0.4 per cent when taking inflation into account.

Separate figures from the ONS highlighted that the jobless rate rose to 3.8 per cent in the three months to April, up from 3.7 per cent in March, the first such increase since the three months to May last year (Reuters).

COVID-19 BUSINESS LOANS ‘SAVED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF JOBS’

An official evaluation of the government-backed pandemic loans schemes has found that they could have saved up to 2.9 million jobs (Financial Times). The research, commissioned by the British Business Bank, estimated that between 146,000 and 505,000 businesses that took out Bounce Back loans might have gone under without the support, up to a third of the total number of borrowers (PA). 

However, between 38 and 45 per cent of businesses surveyed said they would not have sought debt financing without the existence government support, with many borrowing to increase resilience against future risks.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Business confidence fell to its lowest level in more than year last month, according to research by BDO (The Times). 

The government has launched a new digital strategy focused on simplifying regulation, supporting critical technologies like semiconductors and tackling skills gaps to help drive economic growth (Reuters). 

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has paused Bitcoin withdrawals amid a major market downturn (Daily Telegraph). 

Arm Holdings is leaning towards listing its business in the UK, the technology minister has told The Times.