By William Schomberg
LONDON (Reuters) – Most Britons have seen “astonishing” stability in jobs and earnings during the pandemic, due to emergency state support, but some self-employed people, low-income families and people from ethnic minorities have suffered, a think-tank said.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said joblessness, earnings growth, arrears on household bill and food bank use in early 2021 were similar to pre-coronavirus levels.
“Given that the pandemic has seen the biggest ever recorded drop in national income, the overall picture on deprivation and the labour market at the start of this year looks surprisingly positive,” Tom Waters, an economist at the IFS, said.
But the situation could change as the government’s furlough wage-subsidy is phased out between now and the end of September, he said.
Self-employed workers who lost all work at the start of the pandemic saw the biggest deterioration in their personal finances. Some 15% of people in that category were behind on their bills in early 2021, up from just 2% before the pandemic.
More than a third of self-employed…