A report published by a British think-tank reveals the number of self-employed people who have stopped working during the current lockdown is 50 per cent higher than the number without work during the first lockdown. A study by the Resolution Foundation shows around 700,000 have stopped working entirely during the current restrictions, featuring an upward trend from last May's 460,000. Hairdressers, cleaners and people who became self-employed before the pandemic hit are among those who failed to get government support.
The study shows a steep plunge in the number of actively working self-employed people than official figures suggest. There is a lot of pressure on Chancellor Rishi Sunak, ahead of next month's budget. Sunak is expected to report the largest peacetime public spending deficit. Several MPs have lobbied the Treasury to provide more support for the worst affected, whom previous studies have shown are also mostly young and low-paid workers.
Economist at Resolution Foundation, Hannah Slaughter said the government should extend the eligibility criteria for support to help those who are missing out, and offset the cost by clawing back money from workers who received grants during 2020 “well in excess of the losses they've incurred during the pandemic.” The thin-ktank said 41 per cent of self-employed workers have experienced a fall in earnings of 25 per cent or more during the current lockdown. The report said, “This is only slightly lower than the proportion of workers who experienced a severe income shock in the first national lockdown in May.”
Last week's figures revealed that Britain narrowly avoided a double dip recession, showing economic growth in the final quarter of 2020. However, the modest expansion of 1 per cent between October and December failed to prevent the UK's national income falling by 9.8 per cent over the year – the worst annual rate since the Great Frost of 1709.
Sunak is expected to extend most support for businesses and households, even though he has been a bit resistant on widening the scope of his rescue programme for self-employed people.
