Category: 3. Business

Renting homes in England is becoming increasing unaffordable, according to official figures that show tenants pay an average of 36.3% of their income on rent, a figure that rises to 41.6% in London.

People earning a median salary spent 36.3% of their income on an average-priced rented home in England in 2024, up from 34.2% in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures for the financial year show that the price of renting a home in England is moving further beyond a 30% rent to income threshold that the ONS considers to be affordable. The new data has fuelled calls for rent regulation to end a growing affordability crisis for renters.

London was the least affordable region with rents of £1,957 per month, meaning tenants had to pay on average 41.6% of their income on housing.

The top 10 least affordable council areas were all in London, topped by Kensington and Chelsea where those on median incomes had to pay 74.3% of their gross earnings on rent. The next worst were: Westminster (55.8%), Wandsworth (54%), Camden (51.7%), Hammersmith and Fulham (51.3%), Haringey (48.3%), Lambeth (47.1%), Merton (46.8%), Islington (45.5%) and Richmond (45.3%).

All 32 council areas in London have been above the 30% affordability threshold for eight of the nine financial years ending 2016 to 2024, the ONS bulletin said.

Outside London, the least affordable areas based on the percentage of salary paid on rent were: Bristol (44.6%), Bath and North East Somerset (42.7%), Brighton (42.7%) and Trafford (41.3%), as well as Sevenoaks (42%) and Watford (41%), which have a high number of London commuters.

The figures showed that rents last year rose faster than incomes in England. Faster rising wages meant the ratios of rent to income briefly dipped in 2022-23, but since then the ratio has worsened and rents look set to continue to outstrip rises in incomes.

In some regions of England and in Wales and Northern Ireland, rents were found to be still affordable, according to the ONS metric. The most affordable region in England was the north-east, with average rents of £641 per month, or 19.8% of income.

In Wales, all but two of the 24 council areas had average rents that were below the 30% affordability threshold. Only in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan was it above this level.

In Northern Ireland, rents were relatively flat with the ratio ticking up to 25.3% from 25.1% from the previous year.

Tom Darling, the director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “These figures show that the biggest issue facing renters – the cost of their rent – isn’t going away any time soon.

“Though the government’s renters’ rights bill will introduce crucial improvements to security and standards, it won’t put a lid on the affordability crisis. While millions are forced to spend less on essentials like groceries to afford their rent, the government will have a hard time making the case at the next election that they’ve delivered for renters.”

Darling added: “The government should establish a national rental affordability commission to look at ways to bring rents down relative to incomes – including investigating different types of rent regulation.”

Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance for Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Renters faced a horrible squeeze on their incomes, and there’s every sign it has got worse since. Landlords are continuing to sell up – concerned about higher costs from more regulation and more tax.

“It means more tenants chasing dwindling numbers of properties, so rents are continuing to rise. At the same time, although wages have risen impressively, they have been consistently outpaced by private rental increases.”

Joseph Elliott, the lead analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “High rents are locking people out of secure homes and driving poverty and homelessness.

“The government needs to tackle the root causes of the housing crisis – unaffordable rents, frozen housing support, and a chronic shortage of social housing.”

Are you an outdoor adventurer looking to turn your boring campsite into a well-lit glamping ground? The Jackery Explorer 1000 V2 is marked down to $449, almost $350 off its list price, a supercharged price reduction for a product that’s otherwise a little spendy.

Jackery portable power stations have found their way onto multiple WIRED lists, including our roundup of the best power banks, as well as our favorite portable power stations, thanks to their consistent, relatively quiet operation. They’re a great pick for adventurer who don’t want to go too far from their devices, and they can hide in a closet to act as a backup power source during an outage or other emergency. They come loaded with a variety of connections, in this case three AC outlets, two USB-C and one USB-A, plus a DC 12V car outlet just in case.

The Jackery Explorer 1000 V2 that’s discounted doesn’t have quite the same feature set as the Plus version that WIRED writer Simon Hill reviewed. Most notably, the Plus version is expandable with additional battery packs, while the discounted V2 is stuck at 1000Wh. The Plus also has a slightly higher output power, 3,000W compared to the V2’s 2,200W, so make sure to take that into account if you intend on really putting this battery through its paces.

There are some advantages over the more expensive model, however. Apart from a lower price for the same capacity, the Explorer 1000 V2 is lighter and more portable than its Plus counterpart, making it easier to chuck into your truck for a weekend away. It also charges slightly faster from a wall or car, but probably not by enough to make a huge difference in your life. Both models support Jackery’s app, which lets you track capacity and charging, as well as manage battery and energy settings while in use.

While I don’t have capacity tests for the 1,000Wh version, the larger 2,000Wh Plus model was able to power a portable air conditioner for almost seven hours, so you should be looking at about half that for this smaller model. It’s also compatible with Jackery’s solar panels if you want to keep it topped up while on a trip.

While you can buy the base unit on its own for $449, there are also discounts on bundles with the battery, like a $749 bundle that includes a pair of 100W solar panels, or a $499 bundle with a convenient carrying case. Both are solid deals, and while there are regular discounts on Jackery devices, this one may not last long.

Two US nationals in their 70s apparently drowned in two separate incidents on Friday at a new resort in the Bahamas, according to officials.

The deaths happened at Celebration Key, a $600m private destination created for Carnival Cruise Line passengers that launched in July about 100 miles (160km) off the coast of Florida.

“Our lifeguards and medical team responded to two separate emergency incidents at Celebration Key on Friday,” one of which was in a lagoon and the other of which was on a beach, Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement reported by ABC News. “Sadly, both guests have passed away.”

Authorities reported that the first death occurred shortly before noon. A 79-year-old man snorkeling off the beach was discovered unresponsive.

A lifeguard pulled him to shore and tried resuscitation efforts, but he was later declared dead by medical doctors, according to a police statement.

The second drowning happened roughly two and a half hours later. A 74-year-old woman was found unconscious while swimming in a pool.

A lifeguard performed CPR after removing her from the water, and she, too, was pronounced dead.

Police said autopsies would be conducted to determine the pair’s exact causes of death, with investigations still ongoing into both. The victims’ names have not been released.

Carnival confirmed to Nexstar that the two guests had been traveling separately with their families onboard different ships: the Carnival Mardi Gras, which departs from Port Canaveral in Orlando; and the Carnival Elation, which sails from Jacksonville.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the guests and their families, and our care team is providing assistance,” the statement from the cruise line said.

The company said it was working with law enforcement as the investigation proceeds.

Besides beaches and lagoons, Celebration Key’s various zones include pools, a swing bar and retail areas. Carnival projects about 2 million visitors will pass through annually, with that number expected to double by 2028.

The pandemic-era “Great Resignation” saw 47 million people quit their jobs in 2021 and 50 million more in 2022 as they looked for flexible working conditions and higher pay. As job openings and turnover returned to pre-Covid levels in 2023, the mass exodus of workers transitioned to the “Great Stay.” 

Today, as tariff uncertainty threatens companies’ growth plans and private equity funding slows—not to mention advancements in AI stoking employees’ fears about being displaced—workers are staying put with extra anxiety. They’re concerned that should they quit, they wouldn’t be able to find options elsewhere, according to consulting firm Korn Ferry. This act of “job hugging” has workers hanging onto their positions “for dear life.”

“Given just all the activity that happened post-Covid and then some of these constant layoffs, people are waiting and sitting in seats and hoping that they have more stability,” Korn Ferry managing consultant Stacy DeCesaro told Fortune.

Since 2024’s fourth quarter, the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index has indicated growing employee intent to stay at their current jobs in the next six months. The consultancy also saw a 4.4-point drop in its Market Opportunity Indicator last quarter, indicating a steep decline in employee perceptions of the job market. U.S. payrolls grew by just 73,000 in July, and have expanded by an average of only 35,000 in the last three months.

“No one is wanting to leave unless they’re very unhappy or miserable in their job or just feel so unsettled by the company,” DeCesaro said.

Growing employee frustrations

Just because more employees are sticking around doesn’t mean they are happy about it. A November 2024 report from Glassdoor found that 65% of employees reported feeling “stuck” in their current positions, including 73% of those in tech roles. With fewer alternatives, sitting tight at one’s job has, for many, resulted in cabin fever.

“It’s no accident that trends like ‘quiet quitting’ are resonating now,” Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, wrote in the report. “As workers feel stuck, pent-up resentment boils under the surface and employee disengagement rises.” 

On top of bleak job prospects elsewhere, employees are also grappling with a rotating door of company management, which has exacerbated feelings of discomfort and disconnect from a firm’s vision, DeCesaro said. Some of her clients said they’ve worked under three different company presidents in the 18 months. 

CEO turnover rates have reached their highest in decades, with departures jumping 12% from June 2024 to 2025, according to data from executive placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, reaching the highest levels since the company began tracking turnover in 2002.

In other cases, DeCesaro said, new management has provided hope for employees, incentivizing them to stick around that much longer, even if their workplace culture ultimately doesn’t end up changing for the better.

Taken together, these factors have led to the rise of “quiet cracking,” employees reaching a breaking point and mentally checking out. The productivity dip as a result of employee disengagement cost the world economy $438 billion in 2024, according to Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report.

‘Great Resignation’ redux

Employees may have few other career options now, but once market conditions approve, this quiet discontent will no doubt mean deja vu for employers, DeCesaro said: another Great Resignation is coming.

“Once the market improves, I think it’s going to be super active because there’s a lot of pent-up demand of like, ‘I’ve been miserable here for a while, but I’ve just been waiting for a better opportunity or a better market to move,’” DeCesaro said.

If employers want to ensure their workers don’t leave as soon as they see other career options, they should focus on looking for opportunities to open doors of communication between management and rank-and-file workers, as well as take time to gather and listen to workers’ feedback, according to DeCesaro.

With some jobs remaining entirely remote, there should be a continued effort to gather once a year or quarter to create a cohesive company culture.

“It’s going to be a fruit basket turnover of talent,” DeCesaro said. “But if you’ve invested in your people between now and when that happens, people are going to be reticent to leave.”

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