A Care-Led Recovery from Coronavirus

Exclusive new Women’s Budget Group data supports calls for a care-led recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic showing that investment in a Scandinavian style care system would create over two million jobs.

Research by Dr Jerome De Henau and Prof Susan Himmelweit for the UK Women’s Budget Group finds that investment in care has the potential to mitigate the worst employment effects of the Coronavirus recession:

• Investing in care would creates 2.7 times as many jobs as the same investment in construction: 6.3 as many for women and 10% more for men.
• Increasing the numbers working in care to 10% of the employed population, as in Sweden and Denmark, and giving all care workers a pay rise to the real living wage would create 2 million jobs, increasing overall employment rates by 5% points and decreasing the gender employment gap by 4% points.
• 50% more can be recouped by the Treasury in direct and indirect tax revenue from investment in care than in construction.
• Investment in care is greener than in construction, producing 30% less greenhouse gas emissions. A care-led recovery is a green led recovery.

Read the report