Publication type
Report
Series Number
Q2
Author
Publication date
June 14, 2021
Summary:
As Covid-19 restrictions begin to ease and more sectors begin to reopen, there are positive signs of recovery in the labour market. The number of payrolled employees has begun to increase (although it is still 700,000 lower than it was in early 2020); furlough rates are falling; and vacancies have recovered to pre-crisis levels. Despite the swift roll-out and encouraging results of the vaccines, however, concern over new Covid-19 variants and rising cases mean that the outlook for reopening the economy is still uncertain.
There may be further labour market challenges to come: both the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility expect the peak of unemployment to come later this year, when the Government plans to end the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS). Even as the majority of furloughed workers are expected to have returned to work, any lingering social distancing restrictions or reduced demand could lead to businesses letting go the remaining minority of staff when support is withdrawn. And rising unemployment could have lasting consequences for job quality, particularly for the lower-paid workers who have borne the brunt of Covid-19-related job losses and pay cuts.
In this Outlook, we focus on the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on women, unpicking the reasons for the smaller-than-expected labour market impact on women relative to men, and examining the impact on parents. Our Lifting the Lid section looks at the uneven employment recovery in different areas of the UK, long-term youth unemployment, and the recovery in job vacancies in different sectors.
Subjects
Link
https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/labour-market-outlook-q2-2021/
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