The economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic are likely to be the like of which we’ve seldom seen before.  As with so many economic shocks, those in a more precarious position are likely to be most affected, with a new study from the University of Southampton highlighting the particular risk posed to the self-employed.

“Young workers and the self-employed need particular attention from policy makers in this current crisis,” the researchers explain. “It will be particularly important to give young people employment and career support. The Higher Education sector and the opening up of opportunities for acquiring higher skills will play a key role in preparing for future crises. For the self-employed, the quick roll-out of temporary earnings support will be vital under the current circumstances.”

The study builds upon previous work from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which identified customer-oriented personal and domestic services sectors, such as childcare, arts and leisure, and non-food retail, as being especially vulnerable.  The new study suggests that the self-employed are disproportionately likely to work in these sectors.

The researchers used data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey to reveal that around one million self-employed people in the UK are at risk during the shutdown, with around 1 in 3 self-employed women at risk.

Social divide

This at risk group is also more likely to include younger and less educated individuals, with people with degrees afforded far greater protection than those without.  The authors highlight how a much larger proportion of degree holders are able to work from home, which is not the case for their less-educated peers.

The analysis also highlights the regional differences, with London and Scotland more at risk than other parts of the UK in terms of employment generally, but the picture is very different for the self-employed.  For this group, the hardest hit are likely to be in the North East.

“This study highlights the protection having the facility to work from home gives to employees,” the researchers conclude. “The findings should encourage employers to take further steps after the crisis to promote this flexible working arrangement in the future as they cannot always rely on Government support if their employees are unable to carry out their roles from home.”