600,000 JOBS GONE.. & THAT’S ONLY THE START

Unemployment benefit claims soar by 1.6m to 2.8m

UNEMPLOYMENT is predicted to soar to the highest level ever due to Covid-19 after 600,000 people lost their jobs in three months.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits leapt by 1.6 million to 2.8 million since March but they will include the self-employed and people working fewer hours.

After the 1929 Wall Street Crash, it only rose by a million in Britain, according to the Institute for Employment Studies.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The labour market is on red alert. We need strong action now to stop lasting damage.”

IES director Tony Wilson predicted “claimant unemployment” could top the alltime 1986 high of 3.1 million. He said: “If the public health crisis is starting to ease, the unemployment crisis is only just beginning.”

James Reed, chairman

of the UK’s largest recruitment firm Reed, warned: “There’s a real danger that unemployment could go above 15%” – around nine million. Office for National Statistics figures revealed more than 600,000 workers dropped off company payrolls between March and May. Job vacancies fell by a record 342,000 to around 476,000 at the same time. But the jobless rate was largely unchanged at 3.9% or 1.34 million in the three months to April due to around nine million workers being placed on the Government’s furlough scheme.

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds called for a “back to work Budget” from the Government.

The labour market is on red alert. We need strong action now to stop lasting damage

FRANCES O’GRADY TUC GENERAL SECRETARY