The Labour Market Under New Labour : The State of Working Britain 2003

Leading experts examine, for the first time, the impact of New Labour policies on the labor market over the past five years. Looking behind the "good news" implied by the lowest headline unemployment rates since the 1970s and by a low and stable rate of inflation, it examines the impact of policies such as the minimum wage, the New Deal, Working Family Tax Credit scheme, policies on lone parents, and changes in the education system. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 List of figures......Page 8 List of tables......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 14 Abbreviations and acronyms......Page 15 Notes on contributors......Page 17 Introduction......Page 20 Part I: Work, Unemployment and Inactivity......Page 34 1 The impact of the New Deal for Young People on the labour market: a four-year assessment......Page 36 2 Workless households and the recovery......Page 51 3 The rise in inactivity among adult men......Page 59 4 Why has employment recently risen among older workers in Britain?......Page 72 5 McJobs and MacJobs: the growing polarisation of jobs in the UK......Page 89 6 Labour market prospects of less skilled workers over the recovery......Page 105 7 Welfare reform and the employment of lone parents......Page 117 8 The labour market performance of ethnic minorities in the recovery......Page 135 Part II: Hours, Effort and Representation at Work......Page 154 9 The demands of work......Page 156 10 The household division of labour: changes in families’ allocation of paid and unpaid work, 1992–2002......Page 169 11 Trade unions......Page 189 Part III: Wages......Page 208 12 Wage inequality since 1975......Page 210 13 Minimum wage, minimum impact......Page 220 14 Public and private sector labour markets......Page 233 15 Gender and labour market performance in the recovery......Page 251 16 Skills in the UK......Page 267 Part IV: Incomes, Education and Opportunity......Page 282 17 Access to education......Page 284 18 Higher education, family income and changes in intergenerational mobility......Page 299 19 Child poverty in Britain......Page 310 Index......Page 325 Leading experts examine, for the first time, the impact of New Labour policies on the labour market over the past 5 years. Looking behind the'good news'implied by the lowest headline unemployment rates since the 1970s and by a low and stable rate of inflation, it will examine the impact of policies such as the minimum wage, the New Deal, Working Family Tax Credit scheme, policies on lone parents, and changes in the education system. It also looks at the impact of growing income inequalities over this period, on the growing geographic concentrations of joblessness and on the new phenomenon of widespread total economic inactivity amongst certain social groups. Leading experts here examine the impact of New Labour policies on the labour market since 1998. Looking behind the "good news" implied by the lowest headline unemployment rates since the 1970s and by a low and stable rate of inflation, this volume examines the impact of policies such as the minimum wage, the New Deal, Working Family Tax Credit scheme, policies on lone parents, and changes in the education system. It also looks at the impact of growing income inequalities over this period, on the growing geographic concentrations of joblessness and on the new phenomenon of widespread total economic inactivity amongst certain social groups The New Deal programmes have been an integral part of the UK government's Welfare to Work strategy since 1998.