In Britain and America, the employment news is grim. Nearly a million Brits – 850,000 more than usual – have applied for Universal Credit in the last fortnight. While in the United States, unemployment has reached an historic high. As of the end of last week, 6.6 million people claimed for out-of-work benefits. This is the highest increase in adjusted seasonal claims on record and is made even more astonishing when you consider that just four weeks ago fewer than 200,000 people applied for jobless benefits.
With every day that goes by, the health implications of Covid-19 are becoming clearer, as are the economic effects. While the Office for National Statistics reports that 27 per cent of UK businesses have already fired or furloughed staff, a new survey from the British Chambers of Commerce this morning shows nearly half of British companies have plans to furlough the majority of their employees.
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