Number of Brits in work grows despite end of furlough job scheme

THERE is "no sign" that the end of the furlough scheme has hit jobs as the number of Brits in work hit 29.4million.

Official figures released today show that there were 275,000 more workers on payroll between October and November.

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The furlough scheme which has supported millions of workers' wages through the pandemic came to an end on September 30.

But the figures show there is no evidence of the cut-off impacting employment, experts said.

Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: "With still no sign of the end of the furlough scheme hitting the number of jobs, the total of employees on payroll continued to grow strongly in November, although it could include people recently made redundant but still working out their notice.

"The number on payroll is now above pre-pandemic levels right across the country.

Since the end of the furlough scheme, the Omicron variant has started to spread and the government has ordered those who can to work from home where possible.

But there are no plans to bring back furlough or shut businesses to deal with the new variant - after calls for the PM to guarantee extra money.

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The rate of unemployment for the three months to October was 4.2%, the latest figures show.

The rate of unemployment was 4.3% from July to September, figures released last month showed, and for the three months to August the rate was 4.5%.

Mr Morgan said: "Separately, survey findings show much of the recent growth in employment has been among part-timers, who were particularly hard hit at the start of the pandemic.

"While job vacancies continue at record levels, the number is not growing as fast as it did earlier this year."

Job vacancies in September to November continued to rise to a new record of 1.2million, though the rate of growth slowed compared to the previous quarter.

That was up 434,500 compared to January to March 2020 just before coronavirus hit.

Minister for employment Mims Davies said: “With the number of people on payrolls now above pre-pandemic levels across every region and age group, including the biggest monthly increase on record in November, it’s clear our Plan for Jobs is working.

“As we look ahead to next year, we remain wholeheartedly committed to helping employers recruit for the record number of opportunities out there and to giving people – at any age and any career stage – the support and skills they need to confidently land their next role."