wherever you rejoining me from around the world, once again, a big hello, and a warm welcome to the show. you know, it may never have been a more challenging time for companies. and while rising costs and interest rates certainly dominate the headlines, companies themselves say that being able to employ enough of the rightly skilled people is one of the biggest problems they face. in particular, they need more people with technical and communication skills. you know, in america, the unemployment rate is atjust under 4%, and almost 70% of companies say they have trouble recruiting all the staff they need. that s11i% more than two years ago. in europe, they re calling 2023 the so called year of skills, because more than three quarters of companies, they report difficulties finding workers with the right skill set. and a quarter of small and medium sized companies say that that is their biggest problem. here in the uk, it s a similar picture to america. unemployment is hovering
a lid on everything else. all these interlocking global forces meant i had one question for one of the most important people in globalfinance, the managing director of the international monetary fund. kristalina georgieva, a real pleasure, my friend, having you on this show. and kristalina, let s start with this, because you ve recently said a third of the world is heading into recession this year. how deep do you think the recession could be? what we are looking into is a tough 2023. as you know, we are already experiencing labour market disruptions. when inflation cuts the spending power of people, sooner or later they demand higher wages and if they don t get it, they re on the street. and that kind of disruption we have to be prepared for. and if i have one message to policymakers today, it is, please look into the way you can protect the most vulnerable people given that fiscal conditions are tight, and anticipate the impact of high interest rates on labour markets earl
the end of fossil fuels, and the return to the office. oh, boy, it s been quite a year. we re going to hear from the policy makers, the big bosses, and the unlikely stories that made the year so tumultuous. from the head of the imf and nasa to the side hustler making millions. how much money do you make doing this? so this past year, we did over $2 million. shut the front door. it s been a wild ride in business and work, so buckle up as we look back at 2023. wherever you joining me from around the world. once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. you know, as the year began, europe, it was feeling lucky to have got through a relatively mild early winter. nevertheless, the russian invasion of ukraine and the impact it had on energy and food prices were certainly at the top of the agenda. the year to come in the west, well, it would be a dance between rising prices and wages and interest rates, which were just going up to keep a lid on everything else. all these in
oh, boy, it s been quite a year. we re going to hear from the policy makers, the big bosses, and the unlikely stories that made the year so tumultuous. from the head of the imf and nasa to the side hustler making millions. how much money do you make doing this? so this past year, we did over $2 million. shut the front door. it s been a wild ride in business and work, so buckle up as we look back at 2023. wherever you joining me from around the world. once again, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. you know, as the year began, europe, it was feeling lucky to have got through a relatively mild early winter. nevertheless, the russian invasion of ukraine and the impact it had on energy and food prices were certainly at the top of the agenda. the year to come in the west, well, it would be a dance between rising prices and wages and interest rates, which were just going up to keep a lid on everything else. all these interlocking global forces meant i had one question for o
the further east, you should see the child breaking up with sunny spells, and it will be another mild story for this time of year. we are likely to see temperatures around 12 degrees. but colder in the far north and east. as we go into christmas eve, yes, for most of us, we keep this mild air. in fact, milder still. a subtle change to a south westerly direction. christmas eve could be the warmest christmas eve could be the warmest christmas eve on record. we have to beat 15.6, eve on record. we have to beat15.6, but it will be wet and windy. gusts of 50 to 70 miles an hour. if you are off to visit friends and family, keep abreast of the forecast, keep tuned to your local weather station for traffic and travel updates. again, we could see 1a or 15 degrees, it s going to be close as to whether we beat the record, but it will be made mild. 0n to whether we beat the record, but it will be made mild. on christmas day, it stays wet and mild, but by boxing day, a bit fresher, but dr