50,000 workers furloughed

Almost 50,000 workers in Ayrshire were furloughed up until the end of June, according to new figures.

And 16,100 of them were were in East Ayrshire.

Around 31 per cent of eligible jobs in the area were furloughed, statistics released by the UK Government show.

Across Ayrshire, a total of 47,100 roles were furloughed under the job retention scheme, which has seen people get paid 80 per cent of their wages during the pandemic.

Councillor Tom Cook (Conservative), said:“Thanks to the UK Government, the furlough scheme has saved thousands of jobs in East Ayrshire.

“It has given companies breathing space to build their companies back up again. It has been a great scheme.”

The Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse elected member added: “Now we encourage people to get out and support businesses by going into shops, hotels and restaurants.”

Up until the end of last month, 3700 claims worth £10.8 million were made for the self-employment income support scheme in East Ayrshire.

Scottish secretary Alister Jack MP said:“The UK Government has supported almost 900,000 jobs in Scotland so far through our unprecedented package of UK-wide coronavirus assistance.”

Mr Jack added:“People and businesses in Scotland also continue to benefit from UK-wide schemes such as the tourism VAT cut, company loans, VAT deferral, and Universal Credit.”

The coronavirus job retention scheme will run until the end of October.