JOBS in Oxford are the least at risk due to Covid-19 but more than 22,000 roles in the city, one-in-five, are still vulnerable, a think tank has warned.

Analysis from the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is based on the latest furloughing data from the Office of National Statistic published last Thursday and the jobs profile for each local authority.

It has warned up to 35 per cent of jobs in parts of Britain are at risk due to the coronavirus.

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Richmondshire in North Yorkshire – which contains Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s constituency – tops the list of areas set to be most affected, with 35 per cent of jobs vulnerable owing to its large hospitality and tourism sectors. 

Eden in the Lake District and East Lindsey in Lincolnshire follow.

Coastal and rural areas dominate the top 20 and many affluent areas, such as the Cotswolds, feature in the list too.

Areas with the highest proportion of jobs in the knowledge sector are least at risk.

But even in these areas, around one-in-five jobs is rated ‘high-risk’ based on the furloughing data. 

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Oxford, which came top of this list of least affected areas, behind Cambridge, still had 19 per cent of jobs vulnerable.

This means 22,243 roles in the city are at 'high risk'. 

The RSA has called for a new ‘social contract’ – the agreement of rights and responsibilities between the state, employers and employees – with a focus on universal economic security and reskilling.

Alan Lockey, head of the RSA Future Work Centre, said: “No part of the country is likely to be spared a severe recession, but those most dependent on hospitality and tourism will be particularly badly hit, especially rural areas, including many Tory shires.

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“The government’s response so far has been robust, but it must avoid going back to ‘business as usual’ – including Universal Credit, sanctions and means-testing – if it’s to avoid the devastating impact of prolonged unemployment on whole swathes of the population.

“Covid-19 only highlights the need for a welfare state which addresses the economic insecurity felt by growing numbers of people in the UK."