Tucked away in a Norfolk wood, a small team make soap by hand in a converted chicken shed. But even here at Simply Soaps - a small operation set up 11 years ago with a grant from the Prince's Trust - it has been impossible to escape the downturn. "This Christmas was not the same as others. Retailers were keeping their stock to a minimum," says founder Laurence Campion, in his sweet-smelling workshop in the family grounds. "We were aware of the recession, but this was the first real sign of it...

Hopes that Britain may soon emerge from its worst recession in three-quarters of a century were boosted with the publication yesterday of the latest jobless numbers.

Those claiming jobseeker's allowance fell by 6,300 between October and November to 1.63 million – the first fall since February 2008. The number of people in work has now started to rise, though most of the 50,000 new jobs are part time, confirming the gradual trend towards "casualised" working.

The headline unemployment figu...

The UK jobs market looks "deceptively healthy" because of an increase in the number of people having to settle for part-time work, the TUC has warned.

The union body says thousands of people are only taking part-time or temporary work because they are failing to find full-time employment.

Also, an Office for National Statistics report showed a rise in "underemployed workers" working less than they wanted.

The latest UK unemployment figures are released on Wednesday.

The official data f...

The postal industry's greatest problem is not modernisation, but unfair agreements with private mail companies

I've just received the "official" CWU version of the agreement it has just negotiated with Royal Mail. It seems to be substantially the same as the leaked version I read over the weekend.

It came with a long overview justifying the union's position. That was a piece of propaganda, of course. It listed all the supposed gains, but glossed over – or completely ignored ...

A new entertainment complex in Skegness will create at least 50 jobs.

In Skegness, Lincolnshire the four-storey building will include an ice rink, bars, cafes and even a erotic gentlemen’s club.

East Lindsey District Council has approved the project which will cost £7 million pounds. The jobs will be created by summer 2011. Many other contracting jobs will be available to the construction businesses involved in the project. The business responsible for the project is as yet unknown.

by ...