London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Exclusive: London employment levels will not recover until 2023

Exclusive: London employment levels will not recover until 2023

Levels of employment in London will not reach pre-coronavirus levels until 2023 at the earliest, according to new figures from City Hall.
The Greater London Authority’s latest macroeconomic analysis, seen by City A.M., shows that London unemployment is expected to rise by 5.5 per cent by next year.

The figures show that the capital’s economy, in terms of gross value added, will contract by 10.5 per cent this year alone.

The new figures come as official UK unemployment rose by 0.2 per cent to 4.1 per cent in the three months to July, with people aged 16 to 24 the worst hit.

Economists are also concerned that the end of the government’s furlough scheme next month is set to trigger mass unemployment.

A total of 695,000 employees have been taken off UK payrolls in preparation for the end of the scheme.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the latest figures from City Hall showed that the furlough scheme should be extended for sectors that cannot operate at capacity due to the government’s Covid restrictions.

“Our new analysis confirms that the economic fallout of the virus will last until a vaccine is found,” he said.

“Ministers need to wake up to the looming unemployment crisis as businesses are faced with no choice but to cut jobs as low footfall and social distancing continues.”

Business groups, such as the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce, along with Labour are also calling for a targeted extension of the furlough scheme.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs today that he would be “creative” in protecting jobs after the furlough scheme ends, potentially hinting at a limited extension of the emergency measure.

When asked if he would provide sector specific sectoral support after the end of the furlough scheme next month, the chancellor said he had “not hesitated to act in a creative and effective ways to support jobs and employment and will continue to do so”.

Carsten Jung, senior economist at the progressive Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank, said that ending the furlough scheme completely in October “could lead to huge avoidable job losses in London”.

“Contrary to the chancellor’s belief, an end to support schemes will not magically lead to people transitioning into new jobs,” he said.

“It will lead instead to wide-ranging disruption, both to businesses and to their workforce.

“The London economy is recovering only slowly and will need support until the virus is tamed.”

Matthew Lesh, head of research at the free market Adam Smith Institute think tank, said Khan should be focussed on “removing red tape, particularly on housing, that has held our city back for years” instead of lobbying for a furlough extension.

He added: “London’s ability to prosper will depend on rapidly and dynamically responding to new opportunities.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×