This is the 50th of a series of bulletins produced by ISE to update members on key data and policy related to Covid-19. This bulletin covers the period 18th March – 24th March 2021.

You can access all of the Covid-19 bulletins on ISE insights.

Latest Covid-19 data

Data taken from Wikipedia and from the government’s Covid-19 dashboard.

The UK has now had over 4.3 million identified Covid-19 cases and 148,000 deaths (with Covid on the death certificate). The R rate is estimated to be between 0.6 and 0.9 with the daily infection rate shrinking by between 3% and 6%.

The number of cases and the number of deaths have been falling for ten weeks. The number of new cases is now well below the October average although it is still considerably higher than it was during summer 2020. The number of deaths has also been dropping for seven weeks and is now below the October level.

Covid news

Data from the government’s Covid-19 dashboard.

• There have been some concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine, but the data continues to suggest that it is safe and effective.
• How Covid bounced back after previous lockdowns.
• Experts caution the government against allowing overseas holidays.

Education

• Gavin Williamson reviews his experience as Education Secretary and looks to the future.
• There are concerns that the National Tutoring Programme, designed to help school pupils to catch up is not big enough to make a difference.
• Universities and students are grappling with Covid and Brexit related issues, argues Stephen Isherwood.

The economy

• A year of Covid lockdowns has cost the UK economy £251 billion. As a consequence government borrowing levels remain very high.

The labour market

Data taken from the Office for National Statistics data on unemployment and NEET levels.

• New labour market statistics from ONS suggest that unemployment is continuing to grow, albeit more slowly than many feared.
• The impacts of Covid, including the impacts on the labour market, have hit young people hardest with almost two thirds of the people who lost their job in the pandemic under 25. There are concerns that the impacts of this on the young people involved could last a lifetime.
• On the back of the ISE Development survey there has been debate in the media about whether graduates have the skills that they need.
• Charlie Ball offers his update on the graduate labour market.

Changing patterns of work

• What have we learnt from a year of home working?
• Are pop-up offices the future of work?

Student recruitment and development

• Employers are continuing to reflect on the implications of Covid for recruitment. An ISE webinar explores whether the assessment centre is dead? While Holly Sach wonders if online internships are worthwhile? And Aimee Higgins looks at how to run virtual work experience with schools.
• Covid has changed the context for new hires. Tristram Hooley asks if students have the skills needed for the current moment concluding that it is a bit of a mixed bag. There are particular concerns about whether students have the digital skills needed.