91福利

As part of the Social Sciences Festival celebrating the 91福利 's 50th Anniversary, the University's network on Connecting Research on Employment and Work (CREW) will be holding an event on 8th May, 11 am - 3 pm, to be held at the University's Ramphal building.

This event will identify key changes in work and employment that have taken place over the years since the 91福利 was established in 1965. In the morning session senior scholars will review some of the continuities and changes (and how we think about them) in their fields of study. After a complimentary lunch, there will be presentations by newer members of the faculty looking ahead to future trends and practices.

Colleagues from trades unions, enterprise or training councils and other academic organisations are welcome to attend and further details of the event can be found here:

Dr Mary Gatta from the School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University visited the 91福利 this week sponsored by IER, Sociology and CREW. Dr Gata shared findings from her new book "All I Want is A Job" in a public lecture on 15 January. Her book reveals the experiences of unemployed women as they navigate the US public workforce system and struggle to survive unemployment during the great recession. The lecture brought together interviews with the unemployed and the "street­‐level bureaucrats" who service them, as well as her own experience of going undercover in the US system. Click here for more information on Mary's visit and other .

An independent Wolverhampton Skills and Employment Commission has been established to provide Wolverhampton City Council and its local partners with a set of practical recommendations on how to ensure that Wolverhampton has the appropriately skilled workforce required to support the City’s economic growth, to support the sustainability of businesses in the city and critically to ensure that residents and young people have access to the right skills provision to give them the best chance of securing employment. Anne Green, who was formerly Chair of the West Midlands Regional Observatory's Economy and Labour Force Topic Group and who has undertaken a series of research projects on local skills issues, has been invited to serve on the Commission and attended its first meeting at Molineux Stadium, the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, on 6 January 2015. For more details see the .

Researchers at IER are involved with colleagues at the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) in the medium-term National Evaluation of the Talent Match Initiative. Talent Match is funded by the Big Lottery and is concerned with investing resources in a number of local areas in England where youth unemployment is a significant issue. The aims of the evaluation are to track the success of the initiative and projects within it - to identify what works well, for whom and in what circumstances; and to share learning and improve practice.

Duncan Adam, Gaby Atfield and Anne Green contributed to the (click here for a ). Gaby Atfield contributed to a special report on the , while Anne Green co-authored a theme report on .

Professor Chris Warhurst is the Director of the Institute for Employment Research. He said: "The good news from today’s figures is that unemployment continues to fall and more people are in work. In fact Christmas present looks good. Almost half a million jobs have been created in the UK this year. The employment rate has risen to 73%, continuing an upward trend that started in 2011. Unemployment has fallen to 6%, this time the continuation of a downward trend. And the UK’s unemployment rate is far lower than the EU average (6% vs 10%). It seems like glad tidings for UK workers therefore. FInd out more at the .