A New Rise in The Unemployment Rate in Britain And Layoffs at a Record Level

The unemployment rate in Britain increased again in three months until October, while the number of workers who were laid off reached a record high, as companies prepared for the end of the government’s job support program as part of measures to mitigate the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, which was eventually extended until 2021.

Official data revealed that the unemployment rate reached 4.9%, up from 4.8% in the three months to September.

But the increase was less steep than most economists had expected. A Reuters poll indicated a jump in the rate to 5.1%.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of workers laid off reached a record high of 370,000 between August and October, despite a slight contraction only in October.

For most of the period covered by the data announced on Tuesday, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has rejected calls to extend his comprehensive job-preservation program beyond its scheduled end on Oct.31, renewing fears of an increased job loss.

But with Britain exposed to the second wave of cases of Coronavirus, Sunak was forced to announce at the last minute that the program would be extended for a month and then returned and extended it again until the end of March 2021.