Quarter of Welsh workforce has been furloughed

MORE than 315,000 people in Wales – a quarter of the nation’s workforce – have been placed on furlough since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, new Treasury figures have shown.

The statistics show the full extent of the dependence of employers on the £20bn UK Government scheme.

In Rhondda Cynon Taf alone, 23,400 workers claimed the support which sees workers paid 80% of their salary, up to £2,500 a month, from government funds.

That figure receiving support in the county equates to 25.4% of the workforce.

The startling figures came after another major UK employer announced a round of job cuts.

The owner of British Gas – Centrica – has said it will axe 5,000 jobs this year as the company restructures following the impact of coronavirus.

Official furlough statistics showed just over a quarter of Wales’ 1.2mstrong workforce are claiming support.

They are among 8.9m people who have been paid to stay at home across the UK at a total cost to the taxpayer of £19.6bn.

The figures for selfemployed workers – who can claim under a separate fund – are even more stark.

Some 102,000 self-employed workers in Wales, just under three-quarters of those eligible, have received a total of £273m from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

They are among 2.6m self-employed people across the UK who have relied on the scheme.

The money equates to 80% of average profit and is given out in a single payment covering three months.

The furlough scheme was announced on March 20 as part of a package of measures to support jobs, businesses and individuals affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Figures show 316,500 jobs in Wales have been furloughed up to May 31, across a wide range of sectors including retail, agriculture and construction.

This compared to 628,000 people furloughed through the scheme in Scotland, and a total of more than two million in London and the south-east of England.

Across the UK, employers in the wholesale and retail sectors have furloughed the highest number of employers, covering 1.6 million jobs, followed by accommodation and food service employers furloughing 1.4 million.

The total value of claims made in the UK topped £19.6bn by May 31.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The UK Government is doing everything we can to, protect jobs and businesses in Wales and across the UK during the crisis.

“Our unprecedented job retention and selfemployment support schemes have supported the livelihoods of millions and will help ensure our recovery is as swift and possible.”

Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart said: “The UK Government said it would do whatever it took to support the people and businesses of Wales through the pandemic and we have produced an unprecedented package of measures to deliver on that promise.

“So far, more than 316,000 Welsh jobs have been supported by the job retention scheme while £273m has been provided to support 102,000 self-employed people.

“People and businesses in Wales have also benefited from UK-wide schemes such as VAT deferral, company loans and Universal Credit, while the Welsh Government has been allocated an additional £2.2bn in direct coronavirus funding.

“The UK Government has provided certainty for employers and workers to ensure that Wales’ economy is ready to bounce back from the pandemic.”

The scheme will continue to support jobs until the end of October, with flexible part-time furloughing beginning in July to support businesses as the economy is carefully reopened.

From July 1, employers can bring back to work employees that have previously been furloughed for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim a grant for their normal hours not worked.

When claiming the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant for furloughed hours, employers will need to report and claim for a minimum period of a week.

The scheme will close to new entrants from June 30.

From this point onwards, employers will only be able to furlough employees they have furloughed for a full threeweek period prior to June 30.

Meanwhile, Centrica’s announcement on job losses is the latest bad news for workers resulting from the pandemic.

Hundreds of jobs are already under threat at another utility company, after Swalec owners SSE and Ovo confirmed a round of cuts last month.

Some 2,600 UK jobs will be lost – and it is understood 300 of those will be in Wales.

And, as also reported last month, British Airways has revealed 399 roles in South Wales are in jeopardy with the aviation industry reeling from the dramatic drop in the number of global passenger flights during lockdown.

Meanwhile, luxury car-maker Aston Martin – which has a factory in the Vale of Glamorgan – is also looking to shed 500 jobs out of its 2,500 global workforce – it is not yet known how these losses will affect its South Wales operation.

The latest job losses come against a grim backdrop, which has seen benefit claims in Wales increasing by more than 44,000 between March and April alone.

Even before the pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on service industries across the nation, the region was reeling from Ford’s plans – announced last year – to close its Bridgend engine plant later this year, with the loss of 1,700 jobs.