A total of 9.6 million jobs have been furloughed at a cost of £34.7 billion, as the NACFB backed growing calls for the scheme to be extended.
As of Sunday 9th August, 9.6 million workers have been furloughed by 1.2 million employers. In total, the value of claims under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) stands at £34.7 billion. The furlough figure is the same as a week ago, although the total value of claims has jumped from £33.8bn to £34.7bn in the past week. Figures also released by HMRC this week show that about 730,000 people lost their job during lockdown.
The unemployment statistics have prompted the NACFB to back a proposed extension to the scheme, managing director Norman Chambers said: “Businesses could soon be forced to offer unreasonable ultimatums to shielding workers, and we believe the job retention scheme should continue after October for those where working from home is not an option.
“This would positively impact SME owners and provide more breathing room for them to focus on rebuilding their customer base.”