You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
We can and must build our way out of this economic crisis
Today’s new employment figures paint a bleak picture, but they show our urgent need to invest in jobs and growth, says Lord Bob Kerslake
The need to respond to the health emergency brought on by COVID-19 has resulted in the biggest economic emergency in recent times. Any hopes of a rapid bounceback and a quick recovery look increasingly bleak. The GDP figures announced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week showed the biggest decline in the UK’s GDP since records began, while today’s news has revealed that the number of people claiming out-of-work and related benefits jumped to 2.8 million in May 2020, marking the biggest annual increase in 100 years. Young people have been particularly hard hit.
Yet, the worst is still to come, and the ONS figures revealed today suggest we are on track to see the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. So far, Rishi Sunak’s Treasury team has spent more than £100bn seeking to stabilise the economy, protect jobs and safeguard livelihoods. This was the right thing to do.
However, it’s likely that the chancellor will soon be tempted to rein in spending as public debt soars. The sector – and all corners of the business community – must urge the government to resist that temptation.
Instead, government must focus its recovery on targeted investment that supports growth on the one hand, while simultaneously investing in the employment market on the other. Without this backing and leadership, the UK’s economic recovery will be much slower and less certain.
First, government must commit to an accelerated housing investment programme – providing the sector with the certainty and confidence of a building programme that provides affordable homes to rent and to buy. This multiplier effect will support millions of jobs through the construction industry, while stimulating much-needed demand in the supply chain. In the absence of this, new supply is likely to go sharply backwards.
“The UK’s economic recovery must build the foundations for a new world of work”
Just as we did during the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, we can build our way to economic stability. A century ago, a major new housebuilding programme helped to reboot the UK’s ailing economy. Repeating this today would restart the economy and increase the supply of quality homes across a range of tenures.
Second, the government must act to invest in jobs. Over the weekend, an open letter in The Sunday Times – signed by the National Housing Federation, housing associations and business leaders – called on the government to deliver a new “opportunities guarantee”.
This new guarantee would kick-start the UK’s economic recovery by investing in the jobs of the future, doubling the number of people providing job advice and support services, and providing an education place, an apprenticeship or a job for every young person in the country.
The UK’s economic recovery must build the foundations for a new world of work. Through a focus on digital services, investment in green infrastructure and new technology, we will see new jobs, skills and careers created.
But we will only achieve this by investing today.
We need a bold vision for the future of work, and a clear investment strategy to enable our regions, businesses and households to contribute to our country’s success. Together, we can build our way to economic growth, while ensuring that no person is left behind.
Lord Bob Kerslake, chair, Peabody
