Employment

IBM understands the art of the deal

16 Nov 2016

Boss Ginni Rometty pitched President-elect Donald Trump with a job-training program, IT efficiency and a tax cut. They'd be good for IBM, and maybe even America. Conspicuously missing from her letter, however, is any mention of how Watson is bound to displace many workers.

Saudi’s women are its untapped economic resource

15 Nov 2016

In a society dominated by men, religion and petrol, women are very slowly wresting a few freedoms. The kingdom could help the economy by promoting more gender equality. This would be a more effective way of controlling its destiny than trying to influence the price of oil.

Global economic prospects look worse for women

1 Nov 2016

Even in highly equal Norway, new data shows women are barely present in some industries. These are exactly the sort of sectors that will benefit from a revival of government-backed spending programmes. Well-intentioned economic policies risk spreading their fruits unevenly.

German labour law not so bad, unless you’re a bank

13 Oct 2016

Only in Venezuela and China is it harder to sack workers. Teutonic industrial companies have learned to cope and job creation is booming. The only catch is that Germany’s labour-friendly rules are ill suited to the generous pay and hire-and-fire culture of global finance.

ING’s partial London confidence vote stacks up

13 Oct 2016

The Dutch lender is moving 60 staff to the UK capital even as Brexit fears push rivals to ponder leaving. London's financial centre status and talent pool remain big draws. And by relocating only execution-focused traders rather than sales staff, ING caps its downside.

Britain faces uphill battle taming gig economy

11 Oct 2016

About 14 million UK workers do a new type of casual, no-strings job. Business likes the looser arrangements, but so too do most giggers. With workers’ rights a priority, Theresa May will struggle to address the downsides of the new age without hitting some of its benefits.

U.S. jobs give Fed both cover and headache

7 Oct 2016

The economy added 156,000 jobs last month. That's decent but not stellar, allowing Janet Yellen to hold rates steady a week before the Nov. 8 presidential election. But wages and labor participation rose, giving Donald Trump enough to make the Fed a political punching bag.

Dubai could create its own demographic dividend

26 Sep 2016

The emirate has weathered low oil prices, but an unbalanced workforce means it is missing an economic opportunity. Only one in 23 active workers is a local, official data suggests. If Dubai can't turn citizens into workers, it might as well turn skilled workers into citizens.

Globalisation needs better cheerleaders

13 Sep 2016

Free trade and capital flows are often blamed for disadvantaging workers in the West. A new study suggests they have not all fared as poorly as many believe, and that domestic policies can make a difference. Still, statistics and studies alone won’t shake globalisation’s bad rap.

Sports Direct gets image overhaul half right

6 Sep 2016

The retailer released a harsh report about working conditions before its AGM and announced a corporate governance review. The trouble is both will have been done by its own legal advisers. To really change investors' minds, owner Mike Ashley needs a more independent stock take.

Contrary smoke signals bedevil Brexit firefighting

17 Aug 2016

An unexpected drop in the number of people claiming jobless benefit jars with other, grimmer survey data. Monetary policy has already been eased to manage any post-vote slowdown and a fiscal stimulus is likely. Clashing signals make it harder for policymakers to target such help.

Lloyds dividend machine gets post-Brexit dent

28 Jul 2016

The UK bank has cut back the volume of capital it expects to generate following Britain’s vote to leave the EU. Lloyds is a less risky bank than post-2008. But it is exposed to a domestic slowdown, and its dividend story now looks less compelling.

Sports Direct scandal debunks UK employment glory

22 Jul 2016

UK lawmakers have issued a damning report on the retailer and say working conditions hark back to Victorian times. Founder Mike Ashley has big problems to fix. But there’s a wider economic malaise if workers put up with such poor treatment even when the jobless rate is very low.

Migration has masked UK skills shortage

7 Jul 2016

Britain has a paucity of negotiators to thrash out post-EU trade deals. This is not the only national shortage of know-how. Over a quarter of adults in England lack basic skills, the OECD says. Migrants have helped plug a gap that homegrown talent may struggle to fill quickly.

Goldman’s BHS faux pas is cost of doing business

30 Jun 2016

The investment bank admitted its reputation was not enhanced advising retail magnate Philip Green on the sale of the now-bust UK retailer. Indeed it wasn’t. But courting the rich and colourful is just another kind of trade. Sometimes it brings revenue, sometimes it brings costs.