Daily coronavirus briefing

Good Evening,

It is a strange irony that while two million people in the country are still on furlough, there are many employers who are crying out for staff.
The hospitality industry has said that, as it has started to open up again, it has struggled to find people to fill around 500,000 vacancies caused by some people finding new careers during lockdown.
Other companies which have continued to grow in the past 15 months are saying similarly that they just can’t find people with the right skills to fill the jobs they have available.
Meanwhile, two million people are being paid furlough.
It has been suggested that some people would prefer to do nothing for most of their pay than do a full-time job for full-time pay.
That may be true in a few cases, but it could be more likely that people who have been off work for so long have simply got out of the habit or are even fearful of a return to work while Covid figures are still rising.
The furlough scheme has been a godsend for many people - but could it now be distorting the job market?

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 per month for the first two months. Try us today by clicking here