Employment statistics take biggest fall in a decade: the business community reacts

Statistics released today show that employment in the UK has seen its biggest quarterly drop for a decade.

The figures, which were published by the Office for National Statistics, showed that employment decreased by 220,000 between April and June this year.

Figures from across the business community commented on the statistics and what they mean for the country going forward.

Jonathan Walker, North East England Chamber of Commerce:

“As we have seen over recent months, the headline figures for employment in our region continue to hold up, supported to a large extent by the government’s furlough scheme.

“Yet we know that swathes of our economy continue to struggle due to the pandemic and that unemployment is likely to worsen as that scheme comes to an end.

“The monthly claimant count paints a more realistic picture of the state of our jobs market, hitting the symbolic level of 10 per cent in July.

“There are now 52,000 more claimants in our region than this time last year, which demonstrates the impact coronavirus has already had on the economy.

“We have repeatedly warned the government that the downturn has the potential to fall hard on our region.

“While we may be in the summer holiday period, for many of our businesses this is simply the calm before the storm.

“Action is needed immediately to support sectors most at risk when the furlough scheme ends and to boost confidence in regions that should be priorities for ‘levelling up’.”

Tom Pickersgill, Orka Technology Group:

“Today’s unemployment figures won’t shock anyone, however, I believe that the recovery will be quicker than many expect. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll see a return to the same numbers in full- time 9-5 work though.

“Instead, it’s likely that more people will move to flexible shift work that still offers the benefits and protections of traditional full time employment, while enabling them to work for multiple employers.

“Our own work platform has seen a huge rise in people looking for flexible hourly paid work.

“We’ve also seen a 175 per cent increase in the number of shifts posted by large employers that we work with.

“There are several reasons for this, from workers wanting more control over their earnings and work schedules to employers looking for a system where they can man their workforce in line with demand. With a huge emphasis now on flexibility in people’s work life, this trend isn’t going anywhere.”

Louise Deverell-Smith, Daisy Chain:

“The latest ONS figures confirm what we already know. The pandemic has taken its toll on the economy and, unfortunately, the jobs market often carries much of the burden during a decline.

“It’s clear we face a challenging road to recovery ahead, but many businesses in the UK have already shown great creativity, flexibility and extraordinary resilience to overcome turbulent months.

“One undeniable fact is that remote and flexible working arrangements have helped to prevent further job losses and could also be a lifeline when rebuilding the economy.

“Flexible employment platform Daisy Chain saw employer sign-ups triple in June, and the increase in flexible roles being posted continued through July. It demonstrates a clear shift in approach to working arrangements from employers.

“The pandemic has shown that many 9-5, Monday-Friday office roles could be a thing of the past.

“Many jobs can and are being done remotely, part time, or with compressed hours, alleviating some of the pressure on certain sectors and creating more job opportunities for others.

“Jobs and the economy are going to look a lot different in 12 months’ time, and now’s the perfect time to for businesses to get creative with how they approach talented individuals who are now, unfortunately, back on the jobs market.”

Suren Thiru, BCC:

“While the headline data continues to lag behind the reality on the ground, the decline in the number of employees on payrolls and hours worked is further evidence of the damage being done to the UK labour market by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The furlough scheme has been successful in preserving millions of jobs. However, with firms continuing to face a perfect storm of increased costs, reduced demand, and diminished cash reserves, unemployment is likely to surge as the government support schemes wind down, unless action is taken.

“A significant spike in job losses would be a major drag on any recovery, stifling consumer spending and reducing the productive capacity of the UK economy.

“To help businesses recruit and retain staff, more needs to be done to reduce the overall cost of employment and prevent substantial redundancies.

“This could include significant expansion of the Employment Allowance and a cut in employer National Insurance Contributions.”