Justine Greening: One in two worried about job losses

Half of all UK workers are bracing themselves for redundancy in the fallout of COVID-19, while most believe the pandemic will destroy opportunities for young people. 

That is according to new research which also finds that the average worker would only be able to afford to pay household bills for just 11 weeks, if they lost their job. 

The majority (55 per cent) of UK workers in full time employment are worried about their job prospects over the next 12 months, a poll of 2,000 people by the Social Mobility Pledge shows. 

Job fears are highest among younger workers, with 63 per cent of working 18 to 24-year-olds expecting the worst; versus 52 per cent among those aged 45 to 54.

Of the workers concerned about their future, almost a third have secondary fears that they will have to accept a pay cut to keep their job.   

In terms of dealing with the impact of redundancy, workers have enough savings to cover their bills for an average of 11 weeks; yet a third (35 per cent) would have less than a month before they ran out of funds.

Meanwhile, the research suggests people in the early stages of their careers could be hardest hit in the long term; with 82 per cent of respondents having concerns about future job opportunities for young people. 

While bleak UK unemployment figures will be published this week, the true scale of COVID-19’s impact on the jobs market is likely to emerge more later in the year, as the furlough scheme winds down and businesses face up to the challenge of bouncing back.

Both the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility believe the unemployment rate will reach at least 10 per cent by the end of the year.

In April the number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased by the highest monthly rise on record, hitting close to 2.1 million. 

Former Education Secretary Justine Greening, founder of the Social Mobility Pledge which commissioned the polling, is calling on businesses and Government to take urgent action to avert an opportunities cliff-edge in the aftermath of the pandemic.

She says: “Even before COVID-19, there was an opportunity gap between the haves and have nots on opportunity.  Some communities and some people were already locked out of opportunities because opportunity has been unevenly spread across the country. COVID-19 makes that gap even worse.

“55% of UK workers in full time employment are worried about their job prospects over the next 12 months”

“Britain is a nation where a person’s background and circumstance, not their talent, effort or potential, will typically dictate where they end up in life. That’s already unacceptable and now its effect becomes even more acute.

“But the impact of the coronavirus is making opportunity gaps even wider and pushing disadvantaged households, and entire communities, further behind the rest of the country. We’re now in a situation where any prospect of levelling up Britain grows ever more distant without critical intervention and levelling down becomes a real risk.

“For businesses, and government, this means acting now to develop proper strategies, including opportunity action plans and driving them forward with bold decision-making and a commitment to support social mobility.

“The Government’s response must also focus on giving people - especially young people - choices whether it’s education, retraining, or enabling entrepreneurship by helping people start up a new business. This will ensure the pandemic is not a trigger for decades of unfulfilled potential and overlooked talent.”  

Over 500 organisations including businesses and universities, representing five million employees and two million students, have signed up to the Social Mobility Pledge.