Yahoo Finance Coronavirus: Majority of Brits worried about losing their job
The majority (53%) of Brits are worried about losing their job during the coronavirus pandemic, new research has found.
The industries where employees were most worried about losing their job include sales (75%), administration (74%), leisure and tourism (71%), automotive (69%) and IT (65%), according to a study by job board CV-Library.
Last week claims for universal credit hit 2.5 million. Universal credit is now the main benefit for the newly unemployed, suggesting a steep rise in unemployment as firms have axed staff and many self-employed workers have seen their incomes evaporate.
Over half (55%) of people think the company they work for will suffer due to COVID-19, with the highest figures among workers in automotive (81%), hospitality (75%), marketing (71%), IT (71%), construction (66%), leisure and tourism (63%), and recruitment (63%).
Those aged 45-54 (61%) and 25- to 34-year-olds (54%) are the most concerned about job security, according to the study of 1,408 UK professionals.
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Looking across the UK, employees in the West Midlands are the most anxious, with 68% of respondents saying they are worried about losing their job, followed by workers in London (66%) and the South East (64%).
Over three quarters (77%) of workers on furlough also expressed concerns that there may not be a job available for them once the scheme is over. Some 7.5 million workers have been furloughed under the government’s job retention scheme.
Workers in hospitality were the most concerned, with 90% saying they feared their jobs would not be there for them after the furlough scheme ends. Workers in design (89%), engineering (86%), retail (86%) and manufacturing (71%) were also among the most worried.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said: “We’re living in very strange times and this is impacting people at all levels. The government is doing its best to get the economy moving again, but this is going to take time and a lot of professionals are struggling with the uncertainty.
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“Indeed, our data shows that the majority of people who are still working or on furlough are worried about job security and whether their employer is even going to weather the storm.
“We know that some industries are going to suffer more than others and we’re expecting to see a real shift over the next 12 months in terms of what people want and need from their job; especially in the absence of pay rises and promotions.
“Following such an uncertain period, more professionals will want to work for employers that can offer some sense of job security, especially as the pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on the UK economy.”
