[ad_1]
Nearly a quarter of employees in Britain have been laid off in the past two weeks as evidence of the damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to the economy.
With the government weighing how and when to begin lifting restrictions imposed in late March, figures released by HMRC showed that companies have rallied to take advantage of the labor subsidy scheme since its launch on April 20.
HMRC said a total of 6.3 million jobs had been temporarily laid off by 800,000 companies, with claims of £ 8 billion by May 3.
Official figures show that the UK had a record level of employment of 76.4% before the crisis, with more than 33 million people in the workforce. The number of employees was 27.9 million, of which 23% have been suspended.
Fears that the decision to quarantine much of the economy would lead to an increase in the unemployment rate from 4%, near its lowest levels since the mid-1970s, to more than 10%, has led the chancellor , Rishi Sunak, to announce the coronavirus. work retention scheme (CJRS) within a few days of the start of the lock.
Under the plan, the government pays 80% of their wages up to a ceiling of £ 2,500 per month. Currently, the wage subsidies will remain in force until the end of June, although there is already pressure from employers to extend the plan.
The Office of Budgetary Responsibility, the independent body tasked with forecasting the economy for the government, said last week that it expected the cost of the treasury to be £ 39 billion between March and June. That doesn’t include the cost of a separate plan that covers many of the five million independent workers that was announced later.
The high level of employer demand to take advantage of the scheme suggests that the government has so far managed to limit the increase in unemployment.
Last week, an official survey showed that two thirds of UK companies had asked for public money to pay the staff they had temporarily laid off. An employers’ organization, the British Chambers of Commerce, said its surveys showed that more than 70% of private companies planned to fire workers.
The figures came when pension minister Thérèse Coffey said the government received 1.8 claims for welfare payments between March 16 and the end of April through universal credit. Both people who work and those who have lost their jobs are paid.
Coffey said that overall, the volume of requests for social assistance had been six times higher than before the coronavirus during that period, and that in one particular week the increase had increased tenfold. The number of people applying for a job seeker allowance, one of the methods used to calculate the level of unemployment, had increased by 250,000.
The 6.3 million jobs suspended show in harsh terms the scale of economic closure in Britain.
Torsten Bell, executive director of the Resolution Foundation think tank, said unlicensed and universal credit numbers showed the UK was experiencing “an economic crisis like no other.”
He added: “Even despite the massive suspension, unemployment continues to rise, however, with more than two million new claims for benefits. This should remind us how badly the withholding scheme is, but also that we are likely to live. with the legacy of high unemployment that the coronavirus has given Britain, long after it has been phased out. ”
A Treasury spokesman said: “These latest figures show that our job retention scheme is working, supporting businesses across the country and keeping millions of people in jobs during these difficult times.”
• Coronavirus and volunteering: how can I help in the UK?
