Business News Round Up (18/02/2021)
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UK cyber sector worth £8.9bn, says DCMS
A report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) shows almost 50,000 people are now employed in UK cyber security with the industry adding £4 billion to the economy and attracting investment of £800 million. The DCMS Annual Cyber Sector Report, which tracks the UK’s cyber security industry across a range of indicators between April 2019 and December 2020, reveals a 21% increase in firms operating in the field, bringing the total number to 1,483. There was a 9% rise in employment in the industry with more than 3,800 new full time jobs created, bringing the total number of people working in the sector to 46,683. The sector is now worth an estimated £8.9 billion.
Worst January on record for Scottish retail sales
Total retail sales in Scotland decreased by 27.9% year-on-year in January – the worst performance since last April. The ‘stay at home’ order delivered on 5 January was the primary catalyst for this collapse, as online – either for home delivery or click and collect – was the only avenue available to consumers, with all stores deemed non-essential closed for the rest of the month in all but the outer islands of Scotland. The latest Scottish Retail consortium (SRC) and KPMG figures showed that total non-food sales fell by 54.8% in January compared to January 2020. Adjusted for the estimated effect of online sales, total non-food sales were down by 26.4% year-on-year. However, total food sales were up 4.3% – above the three-month and 12-month average growth of 4%.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/worst-january-record-scottish-retail-23511276
Almost two million workers have not worked for at least six months of the Covid crisis
Almost two million workers were unemployed or fully furloughed in January – and had been for at least six months – highlighting the scale of lasting damage to the UK’s labour force that will need to be addressed in the Budget, according to major new research published today by the Resolution Foundation. The report, Long Covid in the labour market – supported by the Health Foundation – examines the state of the labour market during the current lockdown, the cumulative impact of the longer than expected crisis so far, and workers’ prospects for the months ahead as the economy starts to recover. The report finds that the number of workers on the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) has risen to around 4.5 million during the current lockdown – half the 9 million peak during the first lockdown – showing that its impact on the labour market has been far less severe as firms have adapted to operating through the pandemic.
Open University training offered to SMEs
Open University in Scotland has launched a new programme in which small to medium sized businesses can have up to £5,000 of online training. The training is intended to boost productivity and growth in response to the pandemic and is available from the £1 million committed to The Open University in Scotland from the Scottish Funding Council. It is the first university in Scotland to offer training from the Flexible Workforce Development Fund. The training reflects existing Scottish skills gaps including leadership and business, digital and IT, health & social care, and the green economy. It will be delivered online through a range of short courses and modules, many of which are industry accredited and contribute to undergraduate or postgraduate credit.