JRF responds to UK Labour Market statistics

“Today’s figures give a foretaste of what’s to come if the government continues to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to unwinding the furlough scheme. There are worrying signs too that job losses are falling hardest on young people. This just isn’t right.

“As a wave of unemployment gathers pace, the government should be extending furlough in the most at-risk sectors, not cutting it. Targeted, temporary support for workers in these sectors will protect them from being swept into poverty while keeping employers afloat until the worst of the economic storm has passed.

“The government must make difficult decisions about how best to kickstart recovery and protect public health. Avoiding entirely preventable mass unemployment and the long-lasting economic and social scarring that accompanies it should be a priority.”

JRF is calling for the government to:

1. Replace furlough with a new temporary COVID-19 Job Support Scheme, targeted at businesses in sectors that continue to face constrained capacity and reduced demand due to required social distancing measures
2. Introduce a package of measures to create new job opportunities and deliver a ‘good jobs’ recovery at the Spending Review, including:
   1. Further investment in the creation of ‘good jobs’
   2. A package of targeted employment support for workers most at risk of job losses
   3. A ‘New Deal for Adult Education’ by bringing forward planned spending into a single pot
   4. Use the promised UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to provide additional support to weaker local economies, delivering on the Government’s levelling up pledge