Labour

Holding: GrubHub serves up a gig-employment pickle

11 Sep 2017

If the $5 bln food-takeout service wins a rare trial over the job status of workers, discontent could grow in a labor force demanding more benefits. A loss, though, may put the so-called sharing economy at risk. It’s time for a sector that shuns regulation to work with Uncle Sam.

Deutsche Bank CEO tells truth to robotic employees

7 Sep 2017

John Cryan wants the German bank to embrace a “revolutionary spirit” as people lose their jobs to artificial-intelligence technology. His comments reflect the competitive reality – but Deutsche’s whopping 86 pct cost-to-revenue ratio makes its staff among the most vulnerable.

Macron may be French unions’ new best friend

5 Sep 2017

The French president’s labour reforms will give firms more scope to bargain directly with their workers, rather than submit to industry-wide agreements. That will fan demand for training in employment law. The odd side-effect could be increased trade union membership.

Macron’s labour reforms are a gutsy start

31 Aug 2017

Changes such as greater bargaining freedom for employers will make the economy a bit more dynamic. The symbolism is as important. Introducing a highly unpopular cap on unfair dismissal payouts shows President Emmanuel Macron is willing to reform at the expense of poll ratings.

Uber could help itself by giving drivers equity

23 Aug 2017

The ride-hailing firm is considering handing them stock. They aren't employees, so the SEC would have to agree. The plan could boost Uber's damaged brand and help keep drivers. Other gig-economy workers might gain, too. But existing irate investors could present a roadblock.

British wage mystery has non-British explanation

16 Aug 2017

The jobless rate has fallen to 4.4 percent, its lowest in over four decades, yet wage growth is tepid. Two things help explain the anomaly: a pool of people on zero-hour contracts available to switch into permanent jobs, and a surprising rise in EU nationals working in the UK.

Britain learns how not to think about work

12 Jul 2017

A review of the UK “gig economy” suggests some jobs have conditions that make them little better than having no job at all. Others appeal much more than pay levels would suggest. Employment data does not capture the difference. Developing countries have known this for decades.

Germany can jump growth hurdle courtesy of Brexit

27 Jun 2017

Europe’s biggest economy is expanding so quickly that there’s a growing dearth of skilled labour. The shortage may be severe enough to depress the long-term growth rate, the Bundesbank says. One way to plug the gap is to attract EU workers who no longer feel welcome in Britain.

Markets call Trump’s bluff with Indian IT rally

23 Jun 2017

The value of the top outsourcing firms has risen about 9 pct, or $12 bln, since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Investors have reason to doubt his hard talk on immigration, and to believe Premier Narendra Modi can help his counterpart see the mutual benefits.

Macron has the levers to transform French economy

18 Jun 2017

The Gallic president’s talent for upending politics is beyond doubt after his party won a huge parliamentary majority. He now has a free hand to pass labour and tax reforms. His legacy hinges on whether he can lay the foundations for future prosperity without jeopardising growth.

Macron’s reform mandate is shakier than it looks

11 Jun 2017

French President Emmanuel Macron's year-old party is on track to secure a big parliamentary majority after topping the first round of voting. He can present the stunning achievement as a ringing endorsement of his economic reform proposals. Low turnout suggests otherwise.

Hadas: Misbehaving wages keep economists baffled

7 Jun 2017

Conventional economic theory says wages start to rise when labour markets tighten. It isn’t happening in the U.S., Britain, Japan or Germany. Many semi-plausible excuses and partial explanations have not solved the mystery. That leaves central bankers in a quandary.

Spain is beginning to look more like Italy

22 May 2017

Pedro Sanchez’s unexpected victory in Socialist primaries could weaken the already fragile minority government. The risk of a crisis is low, but a more fragmented parliament, similar to Italy, makes economic reforms harder, and undermines Spain’s call for European integration.

Japan’s job market is more brittle than it looks

19 May 2017

Unemployment is 2.8 pct and the country is on its longest growth streak in a decade. But some can only find part-time work, unions speak for just a minority, and productivity is patchy. So wage growth is anaemic - thwarting Premier Shinzo Abe's push for more inflation.

Britain’s joyless job boom is nothing to celebrate

17 May 2017

A record three of every four working-age Britons is employed. But prices are rising faster than wages, and a post-Brexit crackdown on immigration threatens to limit further expansions in the workforce. That makes declining productivity an even bigger cause for alarm.

Hadas: Solidarity is cure to Baumol’s cost disease

10 May 2017

William Baumol showed how differences in productivity put wage pressure on artists and other inefficient workers. The economist, who died last week, was right, but his analysis was too individualistic. The challenge is to find fair ways to share out the fruits of prosperity.

Review: The demise of unions and the rise of Trump

11 Apr 2017

The new Broadway hit "Sweat," about a Pennsylvania steel plant’s closure, offers insight into the forces that put the U.S. president in office. Yet economic insecurity need not necessarily have fueled nativism. The dwindling power of organized labor is a compelling contributor.

China’s Netflix-to-Tesla still awes investors

7 Apr 2017

LeEco's $2 bln purchase of U.S. TV-maker Vizio is reportedly stalled. That would add to a list of setbacks. But shares in LeEco's flagship listed unit still command a big premium to giants like Tencent. It takes a lot to shake Chinese investors' love of concept stocks.

Linde’s erratic unions test Germany’s formula

3 Apr 2017

The gas maker's workers are challenging a $65 bln merger with Praxair they previously seemed to support. Germany's system of handing enormous power to unions works because they mostly use it wisely. In this case, pushing too hard could backfire in more ways than one.

Review: A flawed compass for post-Brexit Britain

31 Mar 2017

The vote to leave the European Union exposed a new political fault line, David Goodhart argues in “The Road to Somewhere”. The solution is for cosmopolitan elites to share more power with those left behind. The tension is real, but the distinction too broad to be a useful guide.