UK redundancies hit a record high as unemployment also rises

UK redundancies hit a record high as the job market slumps in the three months to September, as unemployment also rises.

A record 314,000 British workers were made redundant by British employers in the third quarter which coincides with a jump in unemployment in the country, having risen to 4.8%.

The official data shows that the labour market declined rapidly before finance minister Rishi Sunak made a U-turn on COVID support measures, after recording 181,000 more redundancies than in the second quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday, November 10.

The unemployment rate is now the highest rate since the three months to November 2016.

“September’s rise in the unemployment rate from 4.5% in August to 4.8% suggests that the previous scaling back of the furlough scheme took its toll,” economist Ruth Gregory from the consultancy Capital Economics said.

“And with the second lockdown set to send the recovery into reverse, the unemployment rate may yet climb to about 9% next year.”

Last week finance minister Rishi Sunak extended his costly coronavirus furlough scheme, which provides 80% of the pay of temporarily laid-off workers, until the end of March and he announced billions of pounds in other forms of support.

“I want to reassure anyone that is worried about the coming winter months that we will continue to support those affected,” he said in a statement after the data was published.


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Written by

Matthew Roscoe

Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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