Covid-19 and the predicted employment pandemic in the UK Seminar

The sudden closure of businesses and tight social distancing restrictions on the movement of people in the attempt to slow down the spread of Covid-19 is having unprecedented effects on employment and businesses activity. Employment in non-food personal and domestic services is directly affected since customers are required to stay at home except for essential shopping for food and medical supplies, and where possible work from home, and so no longer permitted to use these services. Using the most recently available employment data for the UK, this study estimates which groups are most likely to be affected by the current crisis and how the employment effects may vary by regions.

Estimates show that the self-employed and particularly self-employed women are hit by the crisis. The regional effect is significantly different for paid employment and self-employment. Findings suggest that the current crisis increases social inequality in employment and the spatial inequality in entrepreneurial activities.

Speaker Information

Dr Darja Reuschke, Associate Professor in Human Geography within Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Southampton.

 

Presentation files can be downloaded from the links below:

Covid-19 and self-employment in the UK

Covid-19 and the predicted employment pandemic in the UK