A new report that assesses towns and cities most at risk from public sector job losses has identified urban areas likely to be hit hardest by the Government's spending review this autumn.
With Whitehall departments facing budget cuts of 25 per cent across the board, the Government is expecting there to be 600,000 redundancies throughout central and local government, quangos and the health service over the next five years.
Unemployment on this scale will obviously have a knock-on impact on support services such as childcare. Early years providers need to be planning now how they will cope.
In the past, recessions have hit communities in specific regions - such as the midlands, north of England and Wales - serving the heavy manufacturing, engineering and construction industries. This time, however, with public sector jobs spread across the country as a result of the previous government's spending programmes, it is not so easy to pinpoint the conurbations set to bear the brunt of the cuts.
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