COVID-19 employment disruption and area-level deprivation

There is an ever growing literature on how those living in deprived areas were affected to a greater extent by the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of both the health and the economic impacts. Based on the latter, we investigate the spatial patterns of employment disruption due to COVID-19 and the relationship with area-level deprivation in Ireland. Using a unique administrative dataset, we examine if area-level deprivation affected the proportion in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), an income replacement payment for those who lost their full-time employment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the length of time on the support. The findings suggest that not only did deprived areas have higher rates of employment disruption but the disruption they faced was more volatile in that it was more responsive to changes in government restrictions. So, while PUP rates were higher in more deprived areas the length of time in receipt of the payment was shorter, suggesting that individuals from more deprived areas had less discretion in deciding when they could safely return to work. Several potential inequalities in the impact of the pandemic with respect to area level deprivation are evident from the results and could inform future pandemic planning and the relevant policy responses.