‘ Golden Triangle’ hit hard by Covid jobs crisis
Vacancies plummet in affluent area of county
YORKSHIRE’S “Golden Triangle’ is bearing the brunt of a jobs crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic as analysis suggests the affluent area has seen a bigger fall in vacancies than anywhere else in the region.
A stark picture of jobs losses and employment prospects has been painted as the number of young people in work falls to a record low, despite relief promised by the Chancellor’s extension of the furlough scheme.
The region is projected to have seen one of the largest bouncebacks in jobs during the summer amid a boom in public spending, but an estimated 48,000 young people in Yorkshire alone faced unemployment in the three months to September, as the redundancy rate rose almost fourfold in a year.
Now, as communities most reliant on hard- hit sectors such as tourism, retail and leisure face mounting pressure, there are further calls for the Government to fill “significant” gaps in support.
“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, as she warned of labour market “turbulence” 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.”
York Outer MP Julian Sturdy last week pressed Ministers over the easing of lockdown, warning the city’s businesses must be able totradeasnormalintherun- upto Christmas lest the nation wakes in January to “shuttered” high streets and rising unemployment.
Analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies suggests employment opportunities in the year to October retracted hardest within Yorkshire’s affluent communities, with advertised vacancies dipping by more than 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 most affected.
Yorkshire’s redundancy rate nearly doubled in the year to September, although it remains the lowest in the country even as youth unemployment soars to 14.6 per cent, compared with 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.
In Leeds, headded, then umber of young people claiming benefits has more than doubled, a situation he fears will continue as they are more likely to work in sectors hardest hit by the lockdown.
AMBITIONS FOR many of the nation’s young people turned to dust as opportunities vanished before they could be grasped.
A meagre smattering of jobs, filled as soon as they were advertised, or work experience cancelled amid a scramble over university places as gap years were indefinitely postponed.
According to data experts Statistica, youth unemployment this August reached a five- year high, with 14.6 per cent of 16 to 24- year- olds out of work – and 17.1 per cent of young men.
For recent graduate George Stocker, his was a path that had been laden with options, as an academic scholar, a childhood charity hero and a prizewinner of ‘ outstanding’ merit.
Last month, after a desolate summer, he launched his own massage and physiotherapy business in a bid to pave his own way to a bright future ahead.
“You have to have a positive outlook,” said the 22- year- old from York who survived a brain tumour aged just nine.
“You always have to look to the horizon, to look at the long term. When I was ill it took me more than three years to get better, but I knew it would happen at some point.”
His home city saw a 35.6 per cent annual drop in the number of advertised vacancies in the first week of October, research by the Institute of Employment Studies ( IES) found. In Harrogate, that figure fell by 39.7 per cent; in Leeds, it was a drop of 38.9, and in Craven, 36.3.
Not all of Yorkshire’s economies have retracted at a similar rate – Richmondshire saw a rise of 15.2 per cent in the number of vacancies, while East Riding saw a 41 per cent increase.
According to charity Impetus, Leeds East is among the hardest hit constituencies in the country, with 16.7 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 claiming work- related benefits in June.
Many young people are taking advantage of opportunities arising from the pandemic, such as care work, with separate research showing school leavers are more interested in those roles than ever before. In addition, charity funding has meant some fledgling businesses can survive the economic challenges.
Milly Rose from Hull owns an entertainment- based creative business which runs community art projects, alongside providing face painting for events.
She said: “If you had told me three years ago that I would be painting for some of the largest organisations in the region, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
For Ms Rose, group activities are currently off- limits and while she was fully booked right through to December, these are now all cancelled. She won funding from the Prince’s Trust to diversify her business and now sells vintage items online, gearing up to produce videos teaching people how to do face painting.
Tutorial courses
“On the positive side, I’ve been able to concentrate on my digital marketing by creating videos for my business’ YouTube channel,” she said. “Although it’s tough for everyone right now, I do feel positive and even have plans to launch my online face painting tutorial courses.”
This spring, Mr Stocker had been readying for his final university exams, with a long summer stretching ahead of him filled with placements and work prospects.
On March 22, the day before national lockdown was announced, he packed up three years of his life and moved home with his parents in Sutton on the Forest. The last of his lessons moved online, he finished his exams over Zoom, and graduation was cancelled. There had been little time or chance to say goodbye to his friends.
“It was horrible,” he said. “I did struggle, it felt really daunting. I had to move back in with my parents – without a job, you can’t pay rent. I was stuck with nothing to do. To go away to university, and then just to come back to the same place you started three years ago... You do end up feeling really down.”
Mr Stocker, who graduated with a 2.1 in Sports Rehabilitation from St Mary’s University, spent months sending out CVs, making calls, and working for free to get a foot in the door. At one point, he was gladly driving two hours a day to Manchester for work experience, although the company could not pay him. “It’s extremely difficult,” he said. “A lot of my friends, maybe 80 per cent of the people I graduated with, have nothing and are feeling really down. The others are volunteering.
“It’s a shock to everybody. We all thought we could work.”
Mr Stocker, who holds ambitions for a career in sports rehabilitation, has worked as an assistant physio in a community gym, at charities, and with the Harlequins Rugby Club.
Outstanding scholar
He was an academic scholar at Queen Ethelburga’s College, where he was awarded the outstanding scholar award, and former nominee for Yorkshire Young Achiever of the Year.
At nine years old, he underwent chemotherapy for a brain tumour. Barely able to walk, he was told he would never play rugby again, but he did, after battling through physiotherapy.
He would go on to raise £ 50,000 for children’s cancer charity Candlelighters, proudly carrying the Olympic torch through Wetherby in 2012.
Last month he rallied again, having launched a company called Yorkshire Sports Injury and volunteering with Harrogate Railway and Wetherby Rugby, as well as taking on personal clients. As a healthcare worker, he can continue in the lockdown.
Looking back to March, he said: “I thought I’d have a good ‘ last summer’, a nice send off from university. Most people, on their final placement, end up staying with a job so that’s what I was really hoping for. I’ve ended up setting up on my own, I’ve created my own job. Having something on the horizon helps. We will come out of this. It’s about looking at what we can still do.”
His father, Roger Stocker, founded Intuitive, a business intelligence software firm in Leeds. Having seen his son’s struggle, he knows only too well how the current crisis has hit the prospects of the nation’s young.
“We’ve offered a three month internship to another graduate,” he said. “If George is struggling, other people will be. It’s just to give them that first step.
“People like me are in a position where we can help a little bit and it can make a big difference.”