Loss of workforce a second time, cutting remuneration (7)
I believe the answer is:
wastage
'loss of workforce' is the definition.
(wastage can mean the shrinking of workforce)
'a second time cutting remuneration' is the wordplay.
'second' becomes 's' (common abbreviation).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'cutting' is an insertion indicator (some letters cut their way into a word).
'remuneration' becomes 'wage' (remuneration for work).
'a'+'s'+'t'='ast'
'ast' placed into 'wage' is 'WASTAGE'.
(Other definitions for wastage that I've seen before include "Unprofitable spending" , "exhausting" , "Unnecessary loss" , "Loss through decay" , "natural decay" .)