Up to 100,000 jobs in the tourism industry could be at
risk due to the impact of the foot and mouth outbreak according to the CIPD’s
chief economist.
John Philpott told Personnel Today
the disease would cause more harm to the UK’s economy in the short term than
the affects of the slowdown in the United States.
He commented, “Farming is a small
part of the employment total. The majority of people employed in farming are
the farmers themselves rather than hired workers, and they will take a knock in
income.
“Tourism is a much bigger employment
sector. 1.8 million people are employed in tourism throughout the UK – you only
need to have one-in-twenty affected to have 100,000 people who have their
livelihoods at threat.
“The good news is that it will not
be a big downturn. It is a temporary affect lasting over the spring and the
summer but it might have an upward blip affect on unemployment during that
time.”
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