Furlough extensions keeps redundancy rise to lowest since March
The extension of the furlough scheme until the end of April 2021 appears to have slowed the rate of redundancies across the UK.
New figures from the Insolvency Service show 36,700 redundancies were proposed in November, the lowest monthly figure since lockdown restrictions were introduced in March.
The November total is around a fifth of the peak, with 156,000 redundancies in June.
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The BBC first reported the figures.
December’s total however will likely include up to 25,000 job losses resulting from the collapse of Debenham’s and Arcadia, if either of the stricken retail giants are unable to find buyers.
The Office for Budget Responsibility have costed the extension of the furlough scheme, which had been due to end in March, at £3bn.
Three Government-backed loan schemes were also extended, from January until March, at an expected write-down cost of around £4bn.
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