UK unemployment surged in the three months through October, exposing the brutal impact of lockdowns on the economy, reports Bloomberg.
The figures will revive criticism that Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak acted too late when he expanded programs to support jobs and businesses hit by the worst downturn in 300 years, cut businesses had already taken the decision to cut jobs.
The number of people looking for work jumped surged by 241,000 in the period, taking the jobless rate to 4.9 per cent, the highest since 2016, the Office for National Statistics said onTuesday.
It followed an increase of 243,000 in the third quarter, a rise last seen in the financial crisis of 2009. Redundancies increased by a record 217,000 through October, while the number of people on payrolls was 819,000 below pre-pandemic levels in November.
Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc is cutting more than 5,000 jobs this year as reduced air travel hammers its aerospace engine business. Heathrow Airport, Britain’s busiest, says it’s trying to avoid reducing staff by implementing wage cuts, prompting more than 1,000 employees to go on strike earlier this month.