Three in 10 jobs furloughed in East Dunbartonshire

Almost three in ten eligible jobs in East Dunbartonshire have been furloughed since March, new figures reveal, with hundreds more added to the scheme last month.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, ahead of a Cabinet meeting to be held at the FCO, for the first time since the lockdown.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, ahead of a Cabinet meeting to be held at the FCO, for the first time since the lockdown.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak arrives at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, ahead of a Cabinet meeting to be held at the FCO, for the first time since the lockdown.

The Institute for Public Policy Research and Resolution Foundation think tanks are calling for the Government to extend or modify the Job Retention Scheme beyond October, to avoid triggering a spike in unemployment.

Figures from HM Revenue and Customs show around 13,900 claims to furlough jobs were made in East Dunbartonshire by the end of July – 28% of all eligible jobs.

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That was 600 more than at the end of June, though this was fewer than the 2,100 jobs added to the scheme the previous month.

During this time, the Government paid 80% of employees’ wages through Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s scheme, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month per employee.

Up to the end of last month, 9.6 million jobs across the UK had been placed on furlough, amounting to £30.9 billion in claims. Across Scotland, the scheme has a take-up rate of 32%, the same as across the UK.

From September, the Government’s contribution will drop to 70% of wages, with employers having to make up the extra 10%, before the scheme is expected to end in October.

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But the Institute for Public Policy Research said that would be a “historic mistake”, and an extension is urgently needed.

Carsten Jung, IPPR senior economist, said: “The jobs recovery is real, but it looks slow and fragile. Even though the lockdown has been partially lifted, the economy is still only carefully picking up speed.

“Reforming and extending the scheme now could prevent jobs losses and boost the economy in this time of need.”

He added that transforming the furlough scheme to focus on job sharing could save 2 million jobs from being lost.

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A Treasury spokeswoman said “We’ve been clear that that we can’t sustain this 
situation indefinitely but the end of the furlough scheme is not the end of our support for jobs.

“For businesses that can successfully bring furloughed employees back to work, this includes a £1,000 job retention bonus.”

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