In 2019, the employment rate among 25- to 64-year-olds in the UK reached 80 per cent – the highest on record, and considerably higher than the 76 per cent rate recorded shortly before the Great Recession. In this paper, we investigate the growth in employment between the eve of the Great Recession and the eve of COVID-19 across several dimensions. We analyse which sectors, demographic groups and regions accounted for the rise. We also investigate how job ‘quality’ – in both financial and non-financial terms – has changed. We find that almost all demographic groups and regions saw a rise in employment, especially those with low pre-existing employment rates and those near the bottom of the income distribution. Hourly pay growth was very weak over the period, with the median actually slightly falling. Other indicators of job quality show a more mixed picture: employees seem to have greater appreciation of their work and firm, but perceive less security and flexibility in their job.

中文翻译：

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大衰退前夕和 COVID-19 前夕之间的工作和工作质量

2019 年，英国 25 至 64 岁人群的就业率达到 80%——有记录以来的最高水平，远高于大萧条前不久记录的 76%。在本文中，我们从多个维度调查了大萧条前夕和 COVID-19 前夕之间的就业增长情况。我们分析了哪些部门、人口群体和地区的增长。我们还调查了工作“质量”——在财务和非财务方面——是如何变化的。我们发现，几乎所有人口群体和地区的就业率都有所上升，尤其是那些既存就业率较低的地区和接近收入分布底部的地区。在此期间，时薪增长非常疲软，中位数实际上略有下降。