UK / Job preservation better than in past recessions

The UK labour market has done far better than in past recessions in terms of preserving jobs. Does that mean it has been a triumph for the so-called “Anglo-social” model, partway between the liberal US system and more regulated continental European markets?

Not quite. Taking the good and bad sides of Britain’s experience, it has so far been roughly in the middle of the pack.

Its strength in creating jobs, taking the number employed back above the pre-crisis level, has been counterbalanced by concern about the quality of those jobs – a lot of them part-time or temporary – and a poorer productivity performance than the average for developed countries.

“We may question the quality of some of the jobs being created, but in my view it is better to have people moved into not-so-good jobs than keeping them unemployed,” says Stefano Scarpetta, deputy director for employment at the OECD, the club of mostly rich nations.

“So in that sense I am fairly positive about the UK experience, compared to what I see for example in a number of continental European countries where the share of long-term unemployment is more than 50 per cent.” Italy, Ireland and Estonia come into that category…

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Job preservation key in UK downturn – FT.com.