Today’s headlines understandably focus on the latest rise in unemployment, especially among the young. Losing a job is potentially a life-changer for many people. But it is no shock that the UK labour market has weakened given the depth of the Covid recession. The real news is that the deterioration is not as bad as … Continue reading Is the UK heading for a ‘tsunami’ of job losses?
Category: Labour markets
Home working choices shouldn’t be the government’s business
I can understand why the government is launching a campaign to encourage people to go back to work. Its own dire warnings about the importance of staying at home had contributed to a climate of fear that perhaps only the government itself can now undo. But there is also a danger that attempts to replicate … Continue reading Home working choices shouldn’t be the government’s business
Are 9.3 million people really still on furlough?
One of the biggest threats to the economic recovery is a second wave of job losses as the government’s job retention scheme (JRS) is wound down. The Resolution Foundation has some good analysis here. Nonetheless, the headline figure of 9.3 million for the number of jobs that have been supported by the JRS may overstate … Continue reading Are 9.3 million people really still on furlough?
UK unemployment – how bad will it get?
he UK’s latest labour market data, released this morning, have predictably led to fresh calls for even more state intervention to ‘create’ jobs, or at least ‘protect’ them. But the most important thing the government can do now is to continue to lift the lockdown. Let’s deal briefly first with the headline unemployment rate, which … Continue reading UK unemployment – how bad will it get?
Plain-speaking Economics 