Nearly one third of workers in Kirklees put on furlough by June
ALMOST one in every three Kirklees workers was furloughed by the end of June.
The latest official figures have revealed 58,900 workers have been furloughed under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - 32% of all employees.
That’s slightly higher than the national average of 31%.
Dewsbury and Huddersfield parliamentary constituencies have the highest proportion of workers furloughed in Kirklees, with 33% of jobs put on furlough.
Other areas of Kirklees have been slightly less affected, with 31% of jobs furloughed in Colne Valley.
More than three quarters of Kirlees’s self-employed workers have also benefited from the SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme (78%), with £39.1 million of support handed out so far.
Meanwhile, Kirklees’s small and medium-sized businesses have received over £93.5 million in grants from the Council as part of wider government measures to support businesses during lockdown.
Across the UK, 9.4 million workers have been placed on furlough, at a cost of £26.5 billion.
Britain’s hospitality and restaurant sectors have been most affected, with 73% of workers reliant on the furlough scheme.
The arts, entertainment and construction industries are also heavily dependent on the scheme, which is due to end on October 31.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The job retention scheme has been vital in supporting workers during this crisis. Millions of young people have been furloughed, especially in the hospitality and entertainment industries.
“But the retention bonus falls far short of what is needed when the scheme comes to an end. And there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to saving jobs. We need targeted support for the hardest-hit sectors like retail, manufacturing and aviation.
“We must do all we can to avoid mass unemployment. The government should work closely with unions and business to protect as many jobs as possible and to ensure working people are not made to pay the price of this crisis.”
The total number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell slightly by 28,000 in June, to 2.6 million people.