More than 3.3 million workers in the UK – 13% of the workforce – are not confident they will be in their current job in a year’s time, according to a new poll by YouGov, commissioned by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The most optimistic were workers in the east of England, with only 7% fearful of not being in their jobs in 12 months. They are followed by workers in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and London, where 12% lack confidence of being in their jobs in a year.
In contrast, workers in Wales are the least confident, with a fifth of workers in the principality stating they were not very confident, or not confident at all. Scottish workers are next, with 17% concerned about keeping their jobs.
About 18% of employees in medium-sized businesses are not confident of being in their jobs next year, compared with 12% in large workplaces of more than 1000 staff.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, those in the lowest pay bracket of £10,000 to £15,000 are the least confident, with those earning more than £50,000 the most confident. Union members were the most confident, with 48% of trade unionists very confident they would be in their job in a year, compared with 40% of non-members.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the poll findings showed just how many people were worried about losing their jobs in the current slowdown, although he emphasised this did not mean unemployment would rise by anything like three million. He said: “The economy will slow this year and next, given the credit crunch and the impact of higher oil, food and commodity prices. But there is a real danger that if everyone thinks the downturn will be deeper than it needs to be, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. These findings add to the growing pressure on the Government and economic policy makers to put growth first by doing all they can to restore confidence and boost investment.” n
