With Budget 2010 just a few days away, there has been both good and bad news for the Chancellor this week.
On Wednesday, the labour market figures revealed a significant drop in unemployment and the claimant count, leading some experts to comment that unemployment may now have peaked (on the Independent website). The Centre for Economic and Social exclusion has put all the figures into easy-to-read charts on their website.
But on the same day, the UK government was among the countries criticised by the European Commission (BBC website) for the "uncertainty" surrounding its plans to cut the deficit, which EU rules say should be below 3% of GDP (the UK's is forecast to hit 12.6% this year).
Thursday brought the news that the public finances are looking in slightly better shape (on the BBC website) than the government predicted in the Pre-Budget Report. City bank Goldman Sachs suggests that public sector borrowing for this financial year may come in at least £10 billion below the government's Pre-Budget Report forecast of £178 billion.
Not long to go until Budget day itself - Wednesday 24 March - when we'll be providing pre- and post-speech analysis of the Chancellor's announcements here on Employment Intelligence.
During the Budget speech itself (due to start at 12:30pm) I will be joining Personnel Today's live blogging team together with HR professionals and industry experts to digest what the Budget means for the HR community and employers in the UK.
If you are an HR manager, employment expert or union representative, why don't you sign up and take part? Bookmark this page on the Personnel Today website and send your contact details, including your company and job profile, to news editor Louisa Peacock, at louisa.peacock@rbi.co.uk.
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