A report in the British Financial Times said that the United Kingdom has the largest continuous decline in employment after the Corona pandemic of any country in the Group of Seven, and this is causing high inflation, low growth and weak public finances.
Economic editor Chris Giles said in an article that the reason for the decline in employment is that some cannot get out of bed, others cannot be bothered anymore, and a third category cannot work in Britain because its exit from the European Union forces them to obtain a visa, and he described this as It does not bode well.
The writer added that this problem is the most pressing problem facing Britain's economy.
He explained that this problem is not clear because unemployment is currently at its lowest level in 50 years, but the number of employed or self-employed workers is 500,000 less than the pre-pandemic level with nearly 900,000 workers less today than what the Bank of England expected in the forecasts that were made Right before the corona virus happened.
The writer said that the most disturbing thing is that this problem is specific to Britain, as the United States has now been able to encourage workers to return to their jobs.
Regarding the reasons, the author reviewed the following details:
Britain currently has more people, especially women, out of work and sick for a long time.
The participation of older men professionals between the ages of 50 and 70 at work has fallen sharply.
The Covid-19 pandemic has coincided with the end of free movement of workers from the European Union and a decline in European immigration, in contrast to the sharp increases seen before the Brexit referendum.
The writer considered that leaving the European Union (Brexit) destroyed the safety valve in the UK labor market, making it less flexible and able to absorb foreign-born employees when demand is high.
"Now they need to obtain travel visas and many of them have gone to other places," he stressed.