Employment data from the Office for National Statistics further underlined the positive mood, with the UK unemployment rate unchanged at 3.8 per cent. The figures showed the employment rate at an all-time high of 76.3 per cent, thanks to a 208,000 increase in the number of people in employment during the quarter.**
Interest rates may be approaching an all-time low but, given the overall economic picture, many argued that it was hard to see how the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could justify interest rate cuts at a time of such unfettered growth.
However, others speculated that an interest rate cut would be a sound strategy to manage economic risks in the short to medium term, rather than delaying a rate cut until the economic picture had deteriorated. Furthermore, as the deadline neared for the Bank of England’s decision, other factors came into play, not least the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China as well as the situation at telecommunications giant BT, which saw a 3% drop in revenues in the last quarter, and a 4% fall in core profits which they largely attribute to the impact of the Huawei ruling.***
Furthermore, it was also reported that the number of personal insolvencies in the UK reached its highest level since 2010, with the Insolvency Service reporting 122,181 personal insolvencies in 2019 – up 6% on 2018.
In the end Mark Carney, in his last major act as governor of the Bank of England, announced the MPC’s decision to opt against an interest rate cut but, as many news outlets reported, it had been a knife-edge decision.
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* https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/house-price-index/
** https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment
*** https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bt-outlook/bt-warns-of-500-million-pounds-hit-from-british-limits-on-huawei-idUKKBN1ZT0MJ
**** https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/jan/30/personal-insolvencies-jump-to-nine-year-high-in-england-and-wales
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As we crest the wave into February, it would be safe to assume that some of January’s good intentions may have been washed away in the relentless flow of days and weeks that seem to pass ever more quickly. It can be tempting, if we haven’t made any significant progress with our goals, to just let them go for another year under the belief that frankly, life can be hard enough already.
If you’re a British expat who has lived outside the UK for at least 15 years, then current legislation denies you the ability to vote in parliamentary elections and referendums.