The Good News thread, local jobs, economy etc

[MooseBreath]

Define success.

Interesting juxtaposition actually right now involving STEM jobs. Apparently there's a real skills shortage and employers are crying out...

http://www.electricalreview.co.uk/features/9691-the-supply-of-uk-engineers-needs-to-be-as-sustainable-as-our-technologies-

But apparently over half (53.6%) of STEM grads can't or don't find work in their respective field six months after graduating.

http://processengineering.theengineer.co.uk/science-graduates-struggling-to-find-work-despite-skills-shortage/1009926.article

So what's going on, I wonder? Is there a shortage or not?

That's just the perennial problem of most employers preferring their entry level employees to have at least some real world experience, while potential employees struggle to get experience without being given a chance. That said, over half of graduates being in a relevant position doesn't seem too bad to me, I wonder how it stacks up historically.

Also I think that's partly down to people studying full time when those subjects are much more appropriate for a trainee/apprentice route. Take a few years of hard work for little return in order to build up both qualifications and experience and the worlds your oyster. Choose full time study and finish up with no real world experience and don't be surprised when employers are less keen to take someone on who has to start from scratch.

[MooseBreath]

- People trafficking and slavery on the up

- 2012 was the first year that over half the people living in poverty, 53%, were in a family where someone worked

- The UN has launched an investigation as to why such a high percentage of people in the UK are living in poverty

- The UK refusing to abide by the UN's notion that internet privacy is a human right

- Then we have people being arrested for social media updates

- Protests are met by police brutality

- We favour the banks over educational and social funding

- Food banks are the biggest growth area

Brilliant ****ing pereformance

What the hell is all of this crap. Slavery and poverty? Put the guardian down billy boy.

[hairy]

What the hell is all of this crap. Slavery and poverty? Put the guardian down billy boy.

 

I would suggest you open up to wider sources of news than your usual sources

 

Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/10467020/Cases-of-modern-day-slavery-will-increase-Home-Office-minister-warns.html

 

Poverty http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2013/12/09/having-a-job-doesnt-stop-you-being-poor-heres-why/

 

Food banks http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/un-official-alarmed-by-rise-of-food-banks-in-uk-8498791.html

 

Calling me names doesn't make it go away.

[MooseBreath]

Slavery cases are expected to go up because of growing awareness of third world crimes happening among the imported third world community.

One man's poverty is another man's wealthy. It's all subjective, but the fact is that being on benefits in this country makes you rich globally. Let's not offend genuinely poor parts of the world by pretending we have any real poverty here. Even if you are poor, the good news is that opportunity is well and truly on the rise in the UK. Anyone who wants to make it can make it. Nothing is stopping you.

Food banks - selfish tarts with dodgy motives. Don't believe a word of it.

[leicsmac]

That's just the perennial problem of most employers preferring their entry level employees to have at least some real world experience, while potential employees struggle to get experience without being given a chance. That said, over half of graduates being in a relevant position doesn't seem too bad to me, I wonder how it stacks up historically.

Also I think that's partly down to people studying full time when those subjects are much more appropriate for a trainee/apprentice route. Take a few years of hard work for little return in order to build up both qualifications and experience and the worlds your oyster. Choose full time study and finish up with no real world experience and don't be surprised when employers are less keen to take someone on who has to start from scratch.

Half is probably reasonable, but you would have thought for an industry supposedly in dire need that would be higher.

How do you get the experience when no company is willing to start you off though? It's a circular problem, as you said. Guess an answer would be networking/ knowing the right people, an age old solution.

[hairy]

Slavery cases are expected to go up because of growing awareness of third world crimes happening among the imported third world community.

One man's poverty is another man's wealthy. It's all subjective, but the fact is that being on benefits in this country makes you rich globally. Let's not offend genuinely poor parts of the world by pretending we have any real poverty here. Even if you are poor, the good news is that opportunity is well and truly on the rise in the UK. Anyone who wants to make it can make it. Nothing is stopping you.

Food banks - selfish tarts with dodgy motives. Don't believe a word of it.

 

Slavery - so you now agree

 

Poverty - Its the UN's definition

 

Food banks - Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2462531/Surge-people-seeking-help-food-banks.html "Three-fold increase"

[MooseBreath]

Slavery - so you now agree

Poverty - Its the UN's definition

Food banks - Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2462531/Surge-people-seeking-help-food-banks.html "Three-fold increase"

Slavery I agree in as much as existing examples of slavery are now more likely to be exposed. It's important to recognise that these are isolated, serious crimes. There is absolutely no general increase in slavery and not a chance the average person is at any kind of risk. It is so rare and isolated that it doesn't really belong in this thread.

[davieG]

Half is probably reasonable, but you would have thought for an industry supposedly in dire need that would be higher.

How do you get the experience when no company is willing to start you off though? It's a circular problem, as you said. Guess an answer would be networking/ knowing the right people, an age old solution.

If these companies really need experience and qualifications then they should sponsor more day release and sandwich degree options but it would seem they're not interested in investing in their own futures and prefer to take a bigger profit today knowing they wont be around in the future having moved on, transient directors and management is not always a good thing.

[davieG]

Good news for businesses

 

Earnings rise slower than inflation for fifth year running

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25347403

 

Average earnings in the UK have risen by less than the rate of inflation for the fifth year running, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

[Jon the Hat]

Slavery I agree in as much as existing examples of slavery are now more likely to be exposed. It's important to recognise that these are isolated, serious crimes. There is absolutely no general increase in slavery and not a chance the average person is at any kind of risk. It is so rare and isolated that it doesn't really belong in this thread.

 

If slavery on the rise is the best argument he can come up with I think you can consider the point won!!

[Jon the Hat]

Good news for businesses

 

Earnings rise slower than inflation for fifth year running

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25347403

 

Average earnings in the UK have risen by less than the rate of inflation for the fifth year running, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

 

If you have a pay freeze for the millions in the private sector who earn over a certain amount while supporting those on low wages, this is going to impact the average increase.

[MooseBreath]

Interestingly, our gas and electricity prices are among the cheapest in Europe

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25200808

So much for the entirety of Labour's election leverage

[leicsmac]

Interestingly, our gas and electricity prices are among the cheapest in Europe

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25200808

So much for the entirety of Labour's election leverage

 

Due to lower energy taxes as our energy companies and regulators don't like to think about the long term future like others do. Notwithstanding that the comparison of prices doesn't mean much unless you factor in average salaries and other living costs, prices are on a continual increase anyway regardless of resource costs and competition is non-existent.

 

Oh, and 6.5% of UK households can't keep their homes adequately warm, compared to less than 2% of Scandinavia - and look how cold those places get.

[MooseBreath]

Due to lower energy taxes as our energy companies and regulators don't like to think about the long term future like others do. Notwithstanding that the comparison of prices doesn't mean much unless you factor in average salaries and other living costs, prices are on a continual increase anyway regardless of resource costs and competition is non-existent.

Oh, and 6.5% of UK households can't keep their homes adequately warm, compared to less than 2% of Scandinavia - and look how cold those places get.

Pretty sure the energy companies don't set their own taxes so you can hardly 'blame' them for low taxes.

Cost as a proportion of salary would be interesting. You'd expect salaries in Britain to be among the highest in Europe so bills are proportionately even cheaper.

Houses that won't stay warm will be more to do with the construction than gas bills. Some of the older UK housing stock is very poor with regards to energy conservation.

[leicsmac]

Pretty sure the energy companies don't set their own taxes so you can hardly 'blame' them for low taxes.

Cost as a proportion of salary would be interesting. You'd expect salaries in Britain to be among the highest in Europe so bills are proportionately even cheaper.

Houses that won't stay warm will be more to do with the construction than gas bills. Some of the older UK housing stock is very poor with regards to energy conservation.

 

No, you're right, the blame for the taxes is on ineffective regulators and Governments of all colours who lack the will to think ahead. The energy companies are just looking out for no.1 as always.

 

Wouldn't be massively sure about the salary - reckon the mean average salary would be high but the median would be a fair bit lower than the rest of Northern Europe because of the larger discrepancy between highest and lowest paid, which means more people struggling when it comes to energy cost as a proportion of salary. Expect us to be ahead of Southern Europe though.

 

Fair point with the construction issues - perhaps something that needs to be looked into on a larger scale for the sake of saving money as well as resources?

[Guest MattP]

Where do they get these figures from?

6.5% can't keep their home 'adequately warm' - who has surveyed that? What is adequately warm?

There was a fella moaning in the pub last Friday that he couldn't afford his heating bill, this while he is on his 12th! Pint of Stella at £4.20 a pop.

Yes it's but ideal but as moose says we have the cheapest in Europe and outrageously generous welfare state.

Maybe the Scandics put their bills before booze and fags.

[MooseBreath]

No, you're right, the blame for the taxes is on ineffective regulators and Governments of all colours who lack the will to think ahead. The energy companies are just looking out for no.1 as always.

Wouldn't be massively sure about the salary - reckon the mean average salary would be high but the median would be a fair bit lower than the rest of Northern Europe because of the larger discrepancy between highest and lowest paid, which means more people struggling when it comes to energy cost as a proportion of salary. Expect us to be ahead of Southern Europe though.

Fair point with the construction issues - perhaps something that needs to be looked into on a larger scale for the sake of saving money as well as resources?

To be fair I'm not even sure that relatively low taxes can or should be used to suggest a lack of long term thinking. Most of these carbon taxes and such like are a bit wishy washy. Certainly you wouldn't find many people pleased with an increase in tax on energy bills at this point in time.

I'd say median salary here is about the same as anywhere else in north Europe, I don't think equality in this country is significantly lower than elsewhere, though I could be wrong.

As for construction, all new builds in the last 20-odd years are pretty good on efficiency. The government offers incentives to homeowners to upgrade things like insulation and to install solar panels. I think our problem (if there really is one) is the old terraces with single skin walls and generally drafty construction. Not much you can do with them except knock them down and start again. When they were built people would all hang around by the fire, these days people want all their rooms to be nice and cosy and that is going to cost more regardless of energy prices. To be honest I think that's just another example of how accustomed to luxury we've become. People expect to be able to walk around in shorts and t-shirt at home with all manner of gadgets using lots of electricity, whereas before people would sit in a fire-lit room playing board games and such. We expect to be able to use lots more energy these days so we shouldn't really be surprised that it costs more.

[Alf Bentley]

Wages rising at a fastest rate since 2007.

 

 

Earnings rise slower than inflation for fifth year running

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25347403

 

Average earnings in the UK have risen by less than the rate of inflation for the fifth year running, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

 

A rise in (nominal) wages, not adjusted for inflation, can be meaningless. Just look at Weimar Germany - wages rose so much that people were carting money around in wheelbarrows, but hyperinflation meant that this was a disaster, which probably contributed to the rise of the Nazis and the advent of WW2!

 

The very article that Matt quotes states: "Economists have also noted that because of inflationary pressures real wages have actually been falling for the past decade and are likely to continue to fall through 2014". That doesn't sound like a very promising picture for growth, though some seem to think that real incomes will stabilise or rise next year....I hope so, as credit and a housing bubble won't support demand for ever, and I don't see the government or foreign importers stepping up to buy lots of goods and services any time soon...

 

Here are ONS stats, showing that we're 8.5% poorer in 3 years:  http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/regional-economic-analysis/changes-in-real-earnings-in-the-uk-and-london--2002-to-2012/sum-real-wages-down-by-8-5--since-2009.html

 

...and here's a typical Conservative supporter applauding the government's economic record:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N4t51IVQ5M

[Rincewind]

Good news for MP's 11% rise in salary. At least the leaders are playing safe and saying they don't agree to it.

Some would say well deserved. I'm speechless.Their increase would make the overall wage increase look better though.

Edited 12 December 2013 by Rincewind

[Guest MattP]

Good news for MP's 11% rise in salary. At least the leaders are playing safe and saying they don't agree to it.

Some would say well deserved. I'm speechless.Their increase would make the overall wage increase look better though.

 

They should get an even bigger rise in my opinion, they are very underpaid compared to other first world nations. In Australia they earn something like $170,000.

 

One of the reasons they are supposdly against it is because they know it will lead to the end of their real cash cow which is their "expense account"

 

Bring their pay up, cancel expenses. That will lead to them staying in hotels, ordering food, drink and  travel that is all paid for by themselves so they won't be spending the most extravagent amounts and engaging in the moral theft that caused the expenses scandal.

 

It will save money, make them live in the real world more, we'll all be winners.

 

What do you think an normal backbench MP should earn?

Edited 12 December 2013 by MattP

[ADK]

I think that is a sensible idea. I don't like the whole expenses culture that pervades the public sector.

 

What is the equivalent private sector job to an MP?

[Guest MattP]

I think that is a sensible idea. I don't like the whole expenses culture that pervades the public sector.

 

What is the equivalent private sector job to an MP?

 

Hard comparison to make really.

 

Suppose a Commercial Director would be the most similar I could think of in terms of day to day routine.

 

Somewhere between 60-80k nationally, probably bump that up to 100k given it's in London.

[ADK]

I was thinking about 80-90K. Do front benchers get significantly more? There is a big difference between a front bencher and a back bencher.

[Guest MattP]

I was thinking about 80-90K. Do front benchers get significantly more? There is a big difference between a front bencher and a back bencher.

 

I'd imagine so.

 

Cameron gets £130,959.

 

A backbencher gets 65k so you can see why we are struggling to attract good people into politics? Successful businessmen aren't going to sacrifice a thriving firm for that wage. It clearly has to be ajusted.

[pSinatra]

I agree that they should be paid more & doing away with expenses.  It would also be worth stopping them taking positions on company boards & lobbying in their own interests.