The UK birth rate could fall to its lowest level this year amid a Covid-driven economic downturn, according to PwC.
While some had expected an increase in remote employment to lead to a spike in pregnancy, the consultancy firm’s annual forecast released on Thursday sees an unprecedented nature and scale of the economic panic causes Britons to resign parenthood.
Double dip
The new closure means the UK is almost certainly back in recession
Source: Bloomberg Economics
That is bad news in the long run, as getting young people into the workforce is a key driver of growth. Another unintended consequence of the pandemic is that London ‘s population will decline for the first time in decades, PwC said.
The unemployment rate will record its biggest quarterly rise in the three months to June this year and the economy could recover up to 2024, the report said. The government ordered a third wide-ranging lockout this month in the event of a virus outbreak.
A permanent decline in the birth rate could mean that “the long-term challenges associated with an aging population in the UK, such as increased pressure on public services and lower economic growth, could to take it forward, ”said Hannah Audino, an economist at PwC.
Women’s jobs are expected to suffer disproportionately from Covid’s influence, with the gender pay gap receding as it shrinks. In a recent PwC survey, 28% of women said their pay had fallen at the time of the pandemic, compared to 22% of men, a difference the company had. said toil worse once the furlough program ends because women tend to work in closed departments.