Jobs in north Highlands 'at greater risk' HIE report warns
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Jobs in the far north are more likely to be lost as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic than elsewhere in the Highlands and Islands, a new report warns.
The 2020 Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Area Profile for Caithness and Sutherland found that the area's rurality and high level of hospitality jobs made employment more vulnerable than elsewhere in its region.
Caithness and Sutherland has a high proportion of workers involved in the most at-risk sectors, such as food services and accommodation, manufacturing and wholesale and retail.
Some 43 per cent of the Caithness and Sutherland working population is employed in these sectors, a greater proportion than either Scotland (38 per cent) or the whole Highlands and Islands region (41 per cent).
Caithness and Sutherland is more reliant on accommodation and food services (15.6 per cent) than across the region overall (11.8 per cent) and nationally (8.2 per cent) and has a slightly higher share of employment in arts, entertainment and recreation at five per cent versus 4.1 per cent regionally and 4.4 per cent in Scotland.
“The rural nature of Caithness and Sutherland and its dependence on tourism mean its jobs are likely at greater risk than those in other parts of Highland,” the report states.
As of the end of 2020, there were 1190 registered unemployed in Caithness and Sutherland, up from 3.5 per cent to 5.3 per cent of the population.
Across the Highland Council area, a total of 14,300 people were on furlough at the end of December 2020, amounting to 13 per cent of eligible employments and higher than the Highlands and Islands regional and Scottish national rates, which are both at 11 per cent.
This is 900 more than the number furloughed just a month earlier, reflecting the introduction of further national lockdown measures just after Christmas.
A further 5700 workers in Highland are claiming Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants. Take up of the third SEISS grant was 47 per cent, slightly higher than across the Highlands and Islands (45 per cent), but below the national level of 54 per cent.
Further job losses are expected to follow the end of furlough with the Highland Council area assessed to be at the third highest risk of job losses out of Scotland's 32 local authority regions.
