Virus Will Hit U.K.’s Women, Young and Low-Paid the Hardest
U.K. Women, Young and Low-Paid Are Most Exposed to Virus Whammy
(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s young, female and low-paid workers are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus when it comes to their health and finances, according to research from the Resolution Foundation.
Women are twice as likely to occupy key roles in health care, education, food and pharmaceutical retail, a report from the think tank published Tuesday showed. In many of those roles, social distancing isn’t always possible, leaving them more exposed to contagion.
The bottom 30% of earners are more than twice as likely to be employed as key workers than those in the top 10%.
The pandemic has underscored income inequality in the U.K after a decade of austerity following the financial crisis. Real wage growth has been stagnant while public services such has health care have suffered budget cuts.
The crisis has “shone a spotlight on the vitality of work that has been under-valued and under-paid for far too long,” said Maja Gustafsson, a researcher at the think tank. “That focus needs to be maintained as the government aims to steer the economy toward recovery.”
What’s more, young people are likely to work in sectors of the economy that have been shuttered as part of the lockdown, such as hospitality, the arts, and travel. Those born in the late 1990s are likely to find themselves hardest hit by the current crisis, the report said.
The economy is taking a massive overall hit from the lockdown. Bloomberg Economics predicts a 17% drop in output in the second quarter.
A separate report by Lloyds Banking Group Plc showed that overall business confidence plunged to the lowest level since the global financial crisis in 2008 this month. Hiring intentions fell to a nine-year low.
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