Well, we made it through. I am not sure we are out of the woods yet, or should I say out at the shops yet, but judging by the news reports about the queues outside some stores a lot of people are! The opening of non-essential shops is, I consider, a major step forward in supporting the economy to rebuild. Many people have returned to work over the last two weeks which is so vital to getting as many people as possible from furlough. An unbelievable fact is that the Government’s job retention scheme is currently paying the income of a quarter of the workforce. How many of those people would now be redundant with limited prospects of returning to work? The furlough option has given businesses that time needed to reorganise and look at how they will succeed post lockdown. Unemployment is expected to rise sharply when the scheme expires in October, but current data from the Office of National Statistics may indicate that things are not as bad as expected. There is optimism that businesses will return to normal quite quickly and the viable businesses will be hiring again soon. The gradual tapering away of the scheme gives firms some breathing space and, those which are struggling, a chance to adjust without drastic redundancies. Within the construction sector demand will be strong for people to return to work, but the ability to adjust to social distancing on site will inevitably hinder productivity. I am confident that our construction industry will adapt quickly and rise to the challenge confronting it over the next few months.
Thoughts on The Economy
