London Boroughs Struck by Covid Crisis ‘double whammy’ as over 500,000 workers Furloughed

Six London boroughs have been hit by a Covid crisis ‘double whammy’ with more than 500,000 workers furloughed in the capital.

Six boroughs across London – Newham, Haringey, Barnet, Brent, Hounslow and Waltham Forest have suffered the double whammy of the highest levels of furloughed workers in the UK. The boroughs all have soaring numbers claiming unemployment benefits. A separate analysis revealed that many boroughs hit hard by the economic storm also have high coronavirus infection rates.

The capital has seen the most staff furloughed out of the regions, with 557,400 people on the scheme on August 31. This highlights how the capital could suffer a fresh blow when it is replaced by new but less generous support measures from the government at the end of October.

According to the latest HMRC figures, Haringey, Newham and Crawley, near Gatwick airport, had the highest take-up rate in the country, with 16 per cent of jobs furloughed at the end of August.