Business News Round-Up: 27th July 2012

Numbers Using Pensions Schemes Falls

Since 2007 the number of people saving into pension funds has rapidly declined. The number of employers who offer a pension scheme is down 10% since 2007 to just 31% and only the number of private sector employees are currently a member of a pensions scheme has fallen 5% to just 26%. From October this year the Government will be phasing in the new auto-enrolment scheme meaning that all employers have a legal requirement to enrol employees onto a scheme and pay a contribution towards it. Steve Webb (Pension’s ministers) has said that “Auto-enrolment will start the monumental shift we need to get millions of Britain’s saving for retirement.”

One Fifth of Graduates Take Up Part Time Employment

A combination of too many students, better grades and the economic downturn has meant that the number of graduates being forced to work in part-time employment has risen by over one fifth to 22%. The decline of full-time jobs has meant that only 69% of the 2010/11 graduates in employment are currently in full time work. Although number of unemployed has fallen slightly to 9%; this could be as a result of more people taking up part-time employment.  Of those working, 5% are self-employed and although this soundspromising; often they are doing domestic jobs such as cleaning or odd-jobs.