Homeworker redundancies 'to rise'

16/02/2009

Window cleaners, gardeners and odd job people are to face mass job losses, as the full effects of the recession hit home.

This is the indication of a new survey from insurer Legal & General (L&G), which found that almost half of all households who employed around-the-home help in the past year were now considering making cutbacks.

With City bonuses being squeezed and big layoffs among high-earning professionals in general thanks to the downturn, the report shows that other workers are now set to feel the effects.

L&G found that just 23 per cent of households employ others to work on their home - down from 42 per cent in early 2008.

Over the past 12 months, demand for odd job people dropped 86 per cent, while that for window cleaners has declined by 48 per cent.

Garry Skelton, marketing director at Legal & General's general insurance business commented: "A significant number of people will be rolling up their sleeves and doing more work around the house in the next few months.

"However, for those people who will still be employing help in the home, it's a good idea to check the credentials of anyone who has access to your home, particularly if they may be left in the home alone."

Official figures show that unemployment hit 1.97 million in December - the highest for 11 years.

Tags; Credit Card Lifestyle, Recent Graduate Debt, Job loss,

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