Pandemic-resilient companies employ higher-paid, higher educated staff
Companies that coped better through the pandemic were more likely to employ people who were paid better, had higher education and were born in Poland or India.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that workers in industries classed as “resilient” to the pandemic were paid £628.89 per week on average, compared with £550.08 in “non-resilient” sectors.
Meanwhile, almost half the workforce in resilient industries have some kind of university degree.
It is the latest sign that those with lower levels of education and income have been dealt a harder financial blow during the pandemic.
The hospitality and the arts and entertainment sectors were most heavily hit by the pandemic. This explains why medium-sized businesses were more likely to suffer during the lockdowns – hotels, pubs and cafes make up a larger part of that segment.
But other sectors did much better during the pandemic. For instance, the wholesale computer industry boomed in March 2020 as many office staff switched to working from home.
In part because of this, people born in India, who make up around 8 per cent of the computer consultancy industry, were more likely to be found in resilient companies.
Talent from India and Poland
According to ONS estimates, about 2.2 per cent of workers in resilient industries were born in India, against just 1.5 per cent of workers in non-resilient industries being India-born.
Workers born in Poland, who are heavily represented in resilient warehouse and storage businesses, made up 2.8 per cent of the resilient industry workforce, and only 2.2 per cent of the workforce in non-resilient industries.
Workers born in the UK made up a higher proportion of the non-resilient workforce.
The ONS said that the highest-growing sectors included those selling furniture, building materials, wholesale flowers and plants and others.
The lowest-growth industries included tour operators, cinemas, travel agencies, and support for the performing arts.