Post-corona jobs programme?

Post-corona jobs programme?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned we’ll see high levels of unemployment as a result of coronavirus. The official tally is likely to go up once the latest figures come out, and more people may be out of work when the furlough scheme ends. He promised the government’s response would be “activist and interventionist” and chancellor Rishi Sunak has begun developing a jobs programme which may include retraining for green jobs.

$100 million fund

SoftBank has put money behind its words of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd. The world’s largest tech investor has earmarked $100 million for the Opportunity Growth Fund which will invest in startups led by people of colour.

Would you pay more tax?

More than three quarters of people would be willing to pay more income tax* to cover the mounting costs of the government’s coronavirus rescue package. The survey by stockbroker AJ Bell also found that most people think the government was right to borrow more - which is lucky, as the national debt is expected to rise by £300 billion this year.

Adviser comment: If this survey is accurate, then the challenge of ‘welcomed’ tax rises will be the timing. Traditionally, as people start to get back to normality such empathy wanes quickly.

Getting spendy

Contactless payments over £30 have soared since the cap was raised on 1st April in a bid to make shopping more hygienic. You can now spend up to £45 without needing to put in your PIN, and Barclaycard says 90% of face-to-face card payments are now contactless.

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