This content is restricted to site members. If you are an existing user, please log in. New users may register below.
New research finds that, whilst there are clear signs of recovery in the labour market, this should not be conflated with the idea that a total recovery has occurred. Research by the Resolution Foundation, an independent think-tank, warns that the UK labour market is currently “lukewarm” as opposed to hot. The report identifies signs of recovery in the jobs market – including 80 per cent of furloughed workers now returning to work and vacancy rates now being higher than pre-pandemic levels. Despite this, the think-tank warns that a total recovery of the labour market has not yet occurred. Currently, the total hours worked in the economy remain around seven per cent below pre-crisis levels – which is a fall comparable to the height of the early 1990s recession. Furthermore, one in 10 people (10 per cent) of people who were self-employed prior to the pandemic are not in work anymore. The report also stresses that the level of pay rises currently taking place are being significantly overstated. Although there has been a growth of 5.6 per cent in average weekly earnings in the three months to April, this has been driven by low-paid workers dropping out of the workforce as
