Workers on furlough pass 9m as cost of job support measures nears £30bn
Over 9m workers in the UK have now been furloughed due to the Covid-19 pandemic at a cost of £20.8bn, new figures from the Treasury show.
As of 14 June, 9.1m jobs were being supported by the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) at a cost of £20.8bn, up from £19.6bn the week before. The figure represents an increase of 200,000 jobs.
The number of self-employed workers applying for support under the self-employment income support scheme remained virtually flat at 2.6m, but the total value of claims made increased from £7.5bn to £7.6bn.
The total cost of the government’s coronavirus job support measures stood at £28.4bn on 14 June, but the rate of claims for both schemes has started to level out.
Under the job retention scheme, the government covers 80 per cent of furloughed employees’ wages up to a total of £2,500 per month.
The deadline for employers to place new staff on furlough was 10 June, and the scheme will be closed to new entrants from the end of June.
From August, government wage support will begin to taper off, with employers starting to cover some of the cost of furloughed workers’ wages before the scheme comes to an end in October.