20 November
Jonathan Portes, a professor of economics at the King’s College London, re-tweeted an article that discusses the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on London’s economy and its labour market.
According to the London Intelligence report, although London experienced some recovery over the summer, its recovery was much weaker than the rest of the UK.
London’s labour market particularly suffered with a sharp decline in jobs and no job creation.
The pandemic has also affected inner and outer London differently, the article detailed.
Central London witnessed the deepest and longest drop in the consumer economy, while workers located in outer London remain most impacted by the drop in economic activity.
Private rents in outer London have also risen continually during the pandemic, the article highlighted.
Additionally, London has witnessed a steeper increase in unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic and at the end of October.
The London Intelligence data found that the 300,000 new unemployment claims had been requested for in October, 170% higher than the same period in the previous year. The rise was again steeper compared to the rest of the UK, where claims rose by 120% for the same period, the data found.
Experts believe that although the claimant count has dropped since the first lockdown, it is most likely to increase with a second phase of the virus and related restrictions, and due to uncertainties around the coronavirus job retention scheme that covers wage costs for furloughed employees.
