Yorkshire's 'golden triangle' bearing the brunt of jobs crisis sparked by Covid-19 pandemic

Yorkshire's 'golden triangle' is bearing the brunt of a jobs crisis sparked by the pandemic as analysis suggests the affluent area has seen a bigger fall in vacancies than anywhere else in the region.

A stark picture has been painted over jobs losses and employment prospects as the number of young people in work falls to a record low, despite welcome relief promised by the Chancellor's extension of the lifeline furlough scheme.

The region is projected to have seen one of the largest bouncebacks in jobs through the summer amid a boom in public spending, but in Yorkshire alone an estimated 48,000 young people faced unemployment in the three months to September, as the redundancy rate rose almost four-fold in a year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Now, as communities most reliant on hard-hit sectors such as tourism, retail and leisure face mounting pressure as employment opportunities vanish, there are further calls for the Government to fill "significant" gaps in support through a difficult winter ahead.

Jobs in Yorkshire's 'golden triangle' - between York, Harrogate and North Leeds - has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemicJobs in Yorkshire's 'golden triangle' - between York, Harrogate and North Leeds - has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic
Jobs in Yorkshire's 'golden triangle' - between York, Harrogate and North Leeds - has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic

"For the tourism and hospitality sectors, in particular, additional pain relief during low season is critical to recovery," said Natalie Sykes of the Institute of Directors (IoD), as she warned over "turbulence" in the labour market and fears of more pain to come.

“It must not be forgotten that many small company directors continue to go without any help and it’s time this problem was remedied.”

Last week York Outer MP Julian Sturdy pressed Ministers over the easing of lockdown, warning the city’s businesses must be able to trade as normal in the run up to Christmas lest the nation wakes in January to a "shuttered" high street and steeply rising unemployment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) suggests employment opportunities in the year to October retracted hardest within Yorkshire's leafy and affluent communities, with advertised vacancies dipping by over a third in Harrogate, Leeds, York and Craven.

Senior professional occupations fell significantly, from two in five to just over a quarter of advertised jobs nationwide, with those working in hospitality and services such as finance, public relations and administration seeing the greatest retraction.

Yorkshire's redundancy rate nearly doubled in the year to September, although it remains the lowest in the country even as the youth unemployment soars to 14.6 per cent, compared to an overall rate of 4.8 per cent.

"We estimate that over 1,000 extra employment, training or education opportunities are needed every day to bring the number of young people not in education employment or training back to pre-crisis levels by autumn next year," said Sam Windett, director of policy at youth charity Impetus and co-chair of the Youth Employment Group.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In Leeds, she added, the number of young people claiming benefits has more than doubled, a situation she fears will continue as they are more likely to work in shutdown sectors.

"Tackling this problem will take a huge cross-government effort which needs to be reflected in this month’s Spending Review. Yorkshire will need to see significant amounts of funding allocated to driving positive outcomes for young people.

"It’s crucial we do everything we can across the region, from employers to government to charities, to ensure more young people avoid the scarring effects of long-term unemployment – we can’t let this generation down."

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Our priority from the outset of this crisis has been to protect jobs in every part of the country, and that of course includes Yorkshire.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Our comprehensive package of support is aimed at protecting as many jobs as possible, including through the furlough scheme, self-employed grants, loans, tax deferrals, newly extended mortgage holidays and grants for businesses.

“And our Kickstart Scheme - which has created almost 20,000 roles so far - is giving young people a future of opportunity and hope by creating high-quality jobs.”

--------------------

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click here to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.