Unemployment rises to 4.8% as coronavirus takes further toll
Written by Rother Radio News on 10/11/2020
Unemployment rose to 4.8% in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The official figures illustrate the continuing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on UK jobs – a toll expected to worsen over coming months.
Last week the Bank of England said it expects unemployment to reach 7.75% by the second quarter of 2021.
The UK economy was plunged into the steepest recession on record earlier this year.
Figures later this week are expected to show a partial recovery in the third quarter but new lockdown measures across England look set to throw the UK back into a renewed contraction as 2020 draws to an end.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme subsidising wages for temporarily laid-off workers until the end of March.
© Sky News 2020
