UK employment had reached a record high at the start of 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the unprecedented measures taken to protect jobs during the crisis, inactivity is rising and we estimate that there are now 1 million fewer people in the labour market than if pre-pandemic trends had continued.

Understanding the nature of the impact of coronavirus on our economy and labour market is vital if we are to develop an effective response.

Our work focuses both on analysing the impact of coronavirus on our economy, and exploring what we need to do to get Britain back to work. We are also examining what the coronavirus crisis tells us about our labour market and social security system, so that what is rebuilt after the pandemic is better than what went before.