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Report

Wales TUC: Infrastructure investment could create 59,000 jobs and boost economic recovery

Research carried out for the Wales TUC by Transition Economics shows that almost 60,000 jobs could be created in Wales in the next two years through government investment in key infrastructure projects.

Broken down by sector, projected job creation from a £6bn investment in infrastructure would mean: 

●           27 thousand jobs in housing construction and energy efficiency retrofits

●           18 thousand jobs in transport upgrades

●           9 thousand jobs in energy, manufacturing, and broadband infrastructure upgrades

●           5 thousand jobs in land, forestry, and agriculture improvements   

These jobs would benefit some of the sectors and demographics hit hardest by the COVID19 emergency. Over 75% of the jobs would be created in sectors that traditionally employ non-graduate workers.

Shavanah Taj, Wales TUC General Secretary, said:

“The best way to protect our economy is to keep people in work. And that’s why we’ve been calling for an extension to the job retention scheme beyond October.

“But we also need urgent action to create equitable and inclusive new job opportunities for all workers in Wales. We have suffered from long-term under-investment in our nation’s infrastructure. Investing in green and ambitious projects now will not only create work for thousands of people in Wales but will also provide huge long term benefits to the Welsh economy, which is particularly crucial as we set to leave the EU.

“The costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of making these investments. We need the UK Government to provide the level of funding that Wales needs”.

Commenting on the publication of the report, the Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, said:

“This analysis from Wales TUC shows the potential of investment in key sectors to enable a green, fair and prosperous recovery from COVID-19.

“We urgently need a recovery that increases equality, provides skills, training and employment opportunities in industries of the future, while incentivising every sector in Wales to meet the well-being goals of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

“This analysis shows this is within reach through wise investment and bold stimulus decisions.”

Read the report here.

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Report

TUC: Can an infrastructure stimulus replace UK jobs wiped out by COVID19 crisis?

An analysis of infrastructure investment options to build back better

New research carried out for the TUC by Transition Economics reveals that fast tracking spending on projects such as broadband, green technology, transport and housing could deliver a 1.24 million jobs boost over the next two years.

Read more: TUC’s Rebuilding after recession: a plan for jobs

Our full analysis:

Our analysis recommends 19 infrastructure projects totalling £85 billion public investment, based on investment and employment modelling and ten World Bank-derived criteria including long-term job creation, resilience and sustainability. 

Broken down by sector, projected job creation (direct and supply chain) is as follows:

  • 735 thousand jobs in housing construction and energy efficiency retrofits
  • 289 thousand jobs in transport upgrades
  • 98 thousand jobs in energy, waste, and manufacturing infrastructure upgrades
  • 81 thousand jobs in land, forestry, and agriculture improvements
  • 42 thousand jobs in broadband upgrades

These jobs benefit sectors and demographics hit hardest by the COVID19 emergency. Over 75% of the jobs would be created in sectors that traditionally employ non-graduate workers.

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Work in progress

Our analysis for Scottish TUC shows potential for a £13bn green stimulus package to create 150,000 jobs

May 31st 2020 press release by Scottish Trade Union Congress

Provisional analysis of clean infrastructure projects has outlined the massive benefits of a government funded green stimulus for Scotland, with a £13 billion investment creating almost 150,000 jobs and re-absorbing workers who have lost employment due to the Covid 19 crisis.

The STUC has today published provisional research by Transition Economics into the potential for clean jobs creation in the context of the COVID 19 crisis. The analysis draws lessons from the 2008 Great Recession – including the need to prioritise shovel-ready projects.

Upwards of 50,000 jobs could be created in building retrofit, 40,000 in transport and 20,000 in manufacturing and offshore wind infrastructure. The longer-term supply chain benefits in Scotland would be enormous.

The research is released following the announcement of the paring back of the Job Retention Scheme, threatening a massive increase in redundancies across the economy, ongoing concerns about the future of the North Sea, and while low-carbon supply chain decisions such as the future of the Bi-Fab renewables facility hang in the balance.

In its submission to the Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery submitted today, the STUC argues for a wide range of measures including “Funding emergency infrastructure stimulus to support Scotland’s economic recovery, including a comprehensive housing programme … and the creation of a national construction and infrastructure company to drive forward change and support high quality employment.” It also calls for investment to support national and municipally owned public transport.

STUC General Secretary Designate Roz Foyer said:

“The need for major infrastructure stimulus becomes more urgent by the day. This research we are publishing is drawn from a wider report on the potential for creating green infrastructure jobs which will be published later in the year. But given the crisis we face there is no time to be lost. We thank the authors Mika Minio-Paluello and Anna Markova for bringing forward these interim conclusions.

“Their analysis shows just that almost 150,000 good quality jobs could be created at the same time as making a real impact on emissions and strengthening Scotland’s renewables supply chain.

“We know that it will still be some time until Scottish industry will emerge from lock-down, so these are the weeks in which we should be planning, and planning big.

“The measures outlined in this report sit along a range of other necessary investments including in key services such as social care. Clearly the level of stimulus we are proposing will require inter-governmental co-operation, but now is the time for those discussions to begin in earnest.”

For further details contact: Dave Moxham 07891 026879

Notes:

Download Provisional Report

The report attached scores potential projects against a range of criteria:

Shovel Readiness; direct Job Creation/Protection; Focus on held-back regions; Builds domestic low-carbon technology & manufacturing; Supports climate transition in hard-to-decarbonise sectors; Contribution to resilience to climate change; Improves economic productivity; Develops domestic skills base; Resilient to re-instated lockdown; Supports health, public services and social fabric