To think that financially, Covid hasn't changed much for many people.

[blueblueblue101]

I keep hearing that we are in a recession that will be the longest and deepest in history. Yet when I look around, no one seems to be financially hit. Plenty of people going out for their meal out to help out. People still able to afford holidays. No one around me has been made redundant and no one I know seems to be remotely concerned about what the future holds in regards to finances Meanwhile, I am eaten up with worry that we'll lose our jobs our home etc.

My experience over several recessions is that each successive recession has a lesser effect on the majority of people. But not everybody of course. Factors such as low inflation and low interest rates, globalisation and clean and clear logistics act as a buffer. It is not a roaring economy - who wants that anyway - the train has slowed down but not hit the buffers.

I don’t think you can rely on the fact that people are eating out as an indication that they’ve had no financial difficulty. I’ve had a cut in income since COVID, but I’ve also had the cost of a holiday refunded which is now being spent on enjoying what we can of British Summer.

Of course there will be plenty of others who weren’t financially affected because they were able to carry on working, and those working from home might have saved money.

Your problem is your worrying though. Your worry won’t affect whether you do or don’t lose your jobs.

I think it is effecting people. I don't know anyone IRL who has been made redundant, but there are a few on here who have been. Also, I think, if schools were to close again, employers may not be able to afford to keep people on if they can't come into work. I think the number of people who genuinely have to shield and who cannot WFH should be covered by the government, but I don't know with this lot tbh.

I also think that if schools are going to be closing on and off or bubbles have to isolate, more parents may have to give up work, especially those on zero hours contracts etc. Let's face it, it will mainly be women won't it?

I'm not sure it means destitution for all. That is unlikely. But it will have an affect. It may be that it hits the poorest first, if government agencies become harder to navigate and more pushed due to increased claims etc. If you're quite middle class you may not see it. If you work for a multinational plc, you may not be thay affected at all, depending on a number of things. But if your company operates in USD for example, a weak GBP won't mean that much to you. But even if it doesn't mean you get made redundant, public services will be pushed, so you may feel a lot poorer.

I’ve experienced the opposite, I know several people who have saved money from being in lockdown, saving on commute costs etc

The long term consequences in terms of job security remain but for now, people I know are doing a bit better

Our sales are 44% down on this time last year (online, non-essential items) so yes, I think, people are already watching the purse strings. (Our sales get hit anytime there is a murmur of a financial crisis).

There is immediate impact for some industries, e.g. Retail, airline, hospitality.
Other industries have a slower impact.

It depends on your industry and how their income, outgoings and ability to do business in the future has been affected.

I think I've got my spellings for effect, affect and effecting all mixed up, but hopefully it makes sense!

You’re lucky if you know no one who’s been made redundant - I know of quite a few. Those are immediate losses due directly to the COVID shutdown and businesses not bring robust enough to carry staff through but companies will continue to be looking at the bottom line and reducing costs where they can. Staff is the biggest cost a business has. So I think more and more job losses will follow. It’s best not to worry but be proactive if possible - make sure your finances are in order, have a worst-case scenario plan, make sure your skills and CV are up to date, work hard and look productive! But ultimately you can’t control a recession so best to just try to not worry about what you can’t control.

Most people I know are key workers/public sector so no one really in danger of losing their job except me! Business is good at the company I work for right now but who knows what the future holds.

I wouldn’t say you were unreasonable but I’d say you were at best naive / wilfully uninformed and at worst plain stupidly goady. Perhaps you really don’t understand how the 200,000 job losses so far are the very top of the iceberg and that a huge number of the 9m currently furloughed will never go back to their previous jobs as they won’t exist. Do you understand what mass unemployment does for the businesses that are currently unaffected and the jobs that are currently open?

Ahhh ignorance is bliss.

My best friend lost her entire career as an event manager on £35K a year and is now earning £10ph as a carer on bank shifts.

Her plan to have a baby has gone completely to shit.

When I walked along one of the streets in my town centre and saw all the businesses that had closed permanently, most of them cafes and food outlets including one that has been there for over 30 years I'm not so stupid as to think Covid hasn't changed anything for many people.

There is a difference between short and long term effects. Once furlough ends, unemployment (which has already risen) will rise further. Are you old enough to remember how things were in the 80s when we had 10% unemployment?

Also there are always winners and losers, so far many have gained financially or not taken a significant financial hit. The people who you don't see eating out are those who have lost out financially - they become invisible.

We are at the beginning of a long recession which will get much worse before it gets better.

It's already very clear how much the high street has been affected to anyone who has walked through their town centre recently.

@BaconsLaw - our Ocado driver last week is a highly specialised film editor for movies. Obviously no movies being made, so he’s driving a van. I know hotel staff who are doing cleaning, a surveyor doing childcare and a journalist (on a national paper until last month) doing dog walking. And the large retail job losses have only been announced not made, and with furlough tapering from the end of this month, the job losses are going to start flowing. Suspect the dog walking and cleaning gigs are going to be in shorter supply once that happens too.

I haven't earned a penny since March. And I'm not likely to start working fully until Christmas. As are many of my colleagues. Just because you're fine in your bubble doesn't mean other people are affected.

Around 1 in 3 of the people I know in the arts/events have lost their jobs.

No one around me has been made redundant and no one I know seems to be remotely concerned about what the future holds in regards to finances

That right there is the problem - just because it’s not affecting anyone in your immediate circle of friends doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Nothing has changed for me personally and DH. I also dont know anyone who lost their job or anything during this time. Its just very lucky i guess and just because it doesnt happen to anyone close to you doesnt mean everyone is fine.

You don't need to know anyone personally, who is affected. How can you hear about Pizza Express closing 73 restaurants, M&W cutting 7k jobs, Jaguar Landrover cutting £1k jobs, Airbus cutting 15k jobs... and think 'nothing' has happened to anyone's financial security.

My kids have reduced hours in nursery, less commuting costs and no eating out costs.

For us, we are better off to the tune of £6/700 per month. This takes into account increased utilities and food costs.

No one around me has been made redundant and no one I know seems to be remotely concerned about what the future holds in regards to finances

^ then consider yourself and your family/friends very fortunate and have a bit more consideration for other people who's circumstance you don't know?

I wish I could say the same about my family and friends!!!