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Summary
- The number of redundancies in the UK rose to 370,000 in the three months to October
- During the period, the UK employment rate was estimated 0.9 percentage points lower than a year earlier
The official figures have reported that UK companies had 819,000 fewer workers on their payrolls in November than at the start of the pandemic. The figures of UK unemployment till the month of October have been published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which stated that the number of redundancies in the UK rose to 370,000 during this period and the unemployment rate was 4.9%. The rate was 4.8 per cent in the quarter ending September.
Of all sectors, hospitality was the worst hit, where every third job was lost due to Covid-19 crisis. It was followed by retail.
The data stated that in the October quarter, the UK employment rate was estimated at 75.2 per cent, 0.9 percentage points lower than a year earlier. The numbers were also lower by 0.5 percentage points than the previous quarter.
During the period September to November, there were an estimated 547,000 vacancies in the UK, lower by 251,000 in the same period of 2019. However, the numbers were 110,000 more than the previous quarter.
Covid-19 and unemployment
Unemployment has become a major economic hurdle for the British economy at present. Despite the government’s furloughing scheme, the unemployment rate in the country has hit a high of 5.1 per cent.
Also Read - Covid-19 support: While some self-employed miss out, struggling families to be covered
Sectors and redundancies
The hospitality sector and the shopfloor retail sector were the most affected industries by the pandemic, registering the greatest number of redundancies. Both these sectors employ the largest number of semi-skilled and unskilled workforce and also have placed a maximum number of people under the government furlough scheme.
The bars and restaurants were closed for months since the first lockdown was implemented. The hospitality sector has faced strict restrictions during the second lockdown and still under the tier shutdowns. Most bars and restaurants are in the tier 3 restrictions and are expected to face a drier patch in the festive season as London will enter the highest alert level on Wednesday.
Brexit and unemployment
The unemployment rate in the country could significantly go up in 2021 if the British and EU negotiators go for a no-trade deal. The government will have to extend its furloughing scheme way deep in 2021 to deal with this eventuality.
