A study has revealed the groups who will suffer most financially from the crisis and reveals what ministers can do to help
The impact of coronavirus on the economy is devastating for people all across the globe, but a study has revealed how young workers, the worst-paid and women will be most affected economically.
Why? Put simply, a large concentration of those groups are employed in sectors that have shut down, such as restaurants, shops, hotels and retailers, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said its research raised serious worries about the longer-term effect of the crisis on these groups.
The study has been published while the UK’s confidence in the economy has fallen to its lowest in 12 years – the last time such a decline happened was during the 2008 economic downturn.
Tim Roache, the general secretary of the GMB union, expanded, ‘This outbreak has shone a light on those left with more month than money.
‘It’s confirmed the damage done by the proliferation of zero-hours agency work and bogus self-employment during the past decade. There can be no return to business as usual after this crisis.’
Women were about one-third more likely than men to work in a sector that has been shut down, as they make up the bulk of retail and hospitality workers. One in six female employees worked for businesses hit by the lockdown, compared with one in seven of their male counterparts..
Meanwhile low earners are seven times as likely as high earners to work in a business sector that has shut down, according to the study. The body’s analysis found a third of the bottom 10% of earners worked in the worst-hit sectors, against one in 20 (5%) of those in the top 10%.
As the virus continues to spread, thousands of employees across the UK are being made redundant, while a percentage continue to be paid, with a 20% pay cut, under the government’s furlough scheme.
Another worry for women is facing domestic abuse at home, and yesterday, Refuge – the UK’s largest domestic abuse charity – said calls for help have risen by 25 per cent since lockdown measures began on March 26. This means women and children facing domestic violence at home are potentially at risk of life-threatening risks situations.
We must all try and help those – be it with financial or emotional support – during these unprecedented times.
The post Women, young workers and low-paid will be financially worst hit by coronavirus appeared first on Marie Claire.
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