UK says jobs furloughed at end of August could reach 3.7 million

Reuters

Published Oct 22, 2020 11:07

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of jobs furloughed as of Aug. 31 could reach 3.7 million, Britain's tax office said on Thursday, highlighting that the arts and entertainment sector was making heaviest use of the scheme.

The tax authority said preliminary figures showed 3.3 million jobs were furloughed as of August 31, and that this could rise to 3.7 million once all data had been collected.

Use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has fallen from a peak of 8.9 million job on May 8.