Lower income workers have been hit hardest by the virus
26 January 2021New ONS data explores distribution of the economic impact of Coronavirus on UK citizens.
New ONS data explores distribution of the economic impact of Coronavirus on UK citizens.
Although the economic shock has spread widely, it has been focused most strongly on younger citizens and those in lower incomes – in other words, those with the fewest financial resources to help them weather the storm.
Those earning under £10k per year were furloughed most frequently, with furlough becoming less common in higher wage categories.
Speculatively, this may reflect the types of work done – certain well-paid roles may be more easily performed “from-home”, whereas entry level work is more likely to be location specific. Also, many lower-paid roles are in areas such as foodservice, which have been hit hard by Coronavirus.
Furthermore, higher-paid workers on furlough were more likely to report receiving their full wage, meaning that employers were making up any shortfall. This may indicate a high desire on the part of employers to retain key personnel.
Presence of children appears to be a key factor in determining financial outcomes – this is presumably due to the need for childcare whilst schools are shut, which may prevent some parents from maximizing their income.
Around 32.5m people in the UK have jobs – of these, 27.9m are employed by some other party and 4.5m are self-employed (source: ONS).
Unfortunately, the self-employed appear to have suffered the most through the Coronavirus emergency – this is true even where thy have taken advantage of government support (ie: the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme).
Source: ONS, January 2021