Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 11th April 2024 Issue no. 1109
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CSSA Study: Jobs, the case for growth
With the total number of jobless in the UK at 2.63 million - 8.2% of the population, the Cleaning & Support Services Association is launching a report to make the case for employment in the cleaning industry as a growth generator.
The report is titled 'Employment Growth... The Case for Cleaning' and details the contribution that the cleaning industry makes to the economic growth of Britain. It identifies the cleaning industry as a growth multiplier for the UK and makes suggestions for policy initiatives the Government could embrace to support the industry and therefore the wider economy.
In the foreword, CSSA Chief Executive, Andrew Large, writes:
"Looking at this report, you might be forgiven for thinking that it is back to the early 1980s all over again. This is quite intentional, because both the political and business situation of 2012 are very similar to 30 years ago.
"Politically, the UK has recently rejected a Labour Government at the polls. In 1979 the Conservative Government had a conflict between the "wets" and "dries" over economic policy. Today the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition partners play similar roles, with battle ground over austerity or stimulus. There are cries for cuts in Government spending, yet in reality that spending continues to rise, month on month and year on year.
"Economically, the early 1980s recessions rivalled the 2008-2012 recessions for severity, with output dropping by around 6% in both cases.
"UK unemployment at the end of 2011 was 8.4%, or about 2.67 million. In the early 1980s unemployment peaked at about 3.25 million, a figure we may yet reach.
"In the early 1980s, the solution to this unemployment challenge was the unleashing of private enterprise, and the rebalancing of the economy away from the public to the private sector. Today, in the wake of the banking scandals of the late 2000s, the reputation of business in Britain is at a low ebb, and while there is talk of rebalancing away from financial services, in reality little new is on the horizon.
"This report sets out the contribution that the cleaning industry makes to the employment and economic growth of Britain. It challenges policy makers to look at cleaning as a growth multiplier for the country and makes concrete suggestions for policy initiatives the Government could take to support cleaning and therefore support the wider economy. This is the case for the cleaning industry and I commend it to you as a positive contribution to Britain's economic recovery in 2012."
The report is available here:
24th May 2012