As many governments worldwide are setting up standards to curb the prevalence of COVID 19, there is a huge impact in sectors of economy and employment. The declarations of lockdown in the UK to curb the prevalence seem to help rein in public health, however; there is still a decline in the economy.
The Office of National Statistics states that about 23% of businesses partially closed and about 60% that operated reported a continuous toll in revenues. The speed and rate of recovery are uncertain and will vary depending on
the sectors allocation. Equivalently, the GDP of the UK is at risk of lowering by 9%. The rapid decline in the economic output has a lot of implications for employment. About 6.5 million jobs are still at risk, with the lowly paid employees more vulnerable to job loss.
Despite the UK signing the plan to leave the EU in 2016 due to trade restrictions, matters on trade are yet to be resolved. The Brexit policies maintain the relationship between UK and EU in trading without paying taxes. Now that the UK is free from the EU, it will set its rules while trading with other countries. In its absence in the EU, the UK will require paperwork that are cumbersome and delay business entrepreneurs. It is unpredictable for disruptions in the UK, but businesses should expect bumpy moments in future. Since the government has a light of this, there are plans to divert trading into other ports around the country. Lorry parks have been built in Kent; hence gridlock along the roads is minimized.
In conclusion, the economy in the UK has implications on employment, posing the lowly paid to vulnerability of losing their jobs. Lifting the COVID 19 measures will help in the recovery of the economic levels. Since the government has initiated interventions to divert into other ports within the country and building lorry parks, then trading activity interruptions will be minimized. Ordinarily, the economic status will increase hence more jobs will be available for the citizens and life will be normal.
Ben Bander Abudawood
