Young people hardest hit as they are least able to work from home
The youngest workers in the country are facing the toughest blow from the lockdown recession as they are the least likely to be able to work from home, while businesses in the services sector are slashing hiring at the fastest rate.
Just 30pc of 16 to 24-year olds were working from home in April, the Office for National Statistics said, far below the rate for other age groups.
Collapsing hiring and falling wages show the pressure which prompted Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, to offer training grants and apprenticeship support to businesses hiring under-25 year olds.
It is key for their financial future and that of the nation, as prolonged periods of unemployment for those leaving school and university can hit their careers and earnings for many years to come.
By contrast those with more work experience are far more likely to have jobs that allow them to work remotely.
The majority of those aged 25 to 34 and those from 35 to 49 could keep working from the kitchen table or spare room.
The number drops back again for older workers. Among those aged between 50 and 64 the rate falls to 42pc.
In part this is because young workers’ industries are particularly focused on personal and social contact.
Fewer than one in six workers in sales and customer service, caring and leisure jobs were able to work from home at the height of the pandemic.
The only group harder hit were plant and machinery operators. Barely one in 20 of these factory staff had a chance of working remotely.
By contrast, more than two-thirds of managers, directors and those in the professions can work from a computer at home.
Women are slightly more likely than men to be able to work remotely, while ethnic minorities are a touch more likely than white workers to be able to operate from home.
Getting a new job is also tough: vacancies in accommodation fell by 71pc in the three months to May to a record low. By contrast in the same three months of 2008, as the financial crisis struck, available positions only fell by 3pc in those industries.
Vacancies in entertainment and recreation also plunged by more than half.
Total vacancies fell from more than 800,000 in the three months to February to fewer than 500,000 in the three months to May.
The overall number of employees, as measured by the pay as you earn tax system, fell by more than 600,000 between March and May, wiping out more than two years of strong jobs growth.
As a result pay is falling. Median earnings fell by 3.5pc between March and May, with fewer people working and more jobless chasing fewer positions.
However the ONS said there were signs that May was the trough and hiring picked up a little in June, indicating the recovery may gradually be getting under way.
