Nursery World - Covid’s economic impact

Families are experiencing mixed fortunes during the coronavirus crisis – and it is lower-income households that are hardest hit, says our columnist Karl Handscomb

Karl Handscomb, senior economist, the Resolution Foundation

Beyond the tragic loss of life, coronavirus is changing the way we work and spend our money. And for many people that has meant losing their jobs, and living with the lower incomes that come with that. There are a wide range of forecasts for what the unemployment rate will be at the end of the year, but even the most optimistic scenarios have it doubling to around 8 per cent.

But unemployment is just one part of a wider conversation we should be having during this crisis. Some families will see their incomes fall because of reduced hours, or because they have been placed on furlough. In either case, our research shows that it is the lowest-income individuals who are most likely to have experienced this increase in job insecurity. However, as our social security system rightly provides more support for families on low incomes, this has partially offset some of these income losses. Overall this means that the combined effect on incomes has been similar for lower- and higher-income households.

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