As we emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns in early 2021, the Data & Analytics Service at Essex County Council undertook some analysis to understand the likely financial impact on households in Essex at this time. This analysis looks at the comparisons in households financial standing between 2020 and 2021.
This analysis seeks to answer the questions below, showing the story of unemployment, furlough and universal credit between 2020 and 2021, and how our residents by District have been affected:
- Who and where is most likely to be impacted financially in the next 12 months?
- Linked to this – what was the financial resilience picture/structural baseline pre-pandemic and the additional friction on top of that caused by the pandemic
- Self-employment income support scheme – what effect will the withdrawal of this have on residents? (1/6 of Essex workforce)
- What is our estimated position for people who are impacted now due to loss of employment) and in the next 12 months with the end of furlough (more unemployment)?
The attached presentations reflect different stages of the work.
- Stage One is an early scene-setting exercise, showing the numbers of Essex residents on Furlough and Universal Credit
- Stage Two shows the employment sectors most affected by furlough, and the demographics of residents who have most likely seen reduced incomes as a result of furlough and the pandemic
- Stage Three runs through projections of potential job losses after the end of the furlough scheme, changes in household compositions and finances between 2020 and 2021 and which cohorts of residents are most vulnerable as a result of the financial implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.
