Bailey warns scourge of long-term unemployment threatens workers

Linda J. Dodson

One of the hardest-hit industries is hospitality, which is facing renewed restrictions and fears over the end of furlough.

“Furlough support is about to end and we are moving onto a Job Support Scheme that will not work for many of our businesses. Our sector is being forced to operate under crippling restrictions, so to pay staff for more than hours worked is an unachievable ask for many venues. Unless support is forthcoming, the outlook is only going to get bleaker,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality.

Workers are affected differently by region, too, Mr Bailey said, with different degrees of lockdown by location.

The Bank of England estimates that the economy is now around 10pc smaller than it was at the end of 2019, which is an improvement from the worst point of the lockdown when it was down 22pc.

“That is the rapid element of the recovery. But let’s be realistic, 9pc is a very big number. So any talk of a ‘v-shaped’ recovery has to be put into perspective – 9pc is a massive shortfall by historical standards,” the Governor said.

This is a contrast to earlier comments from officials including the Bank’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, who heralded the ‘v-shaped’ signals earlier in the year.

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