UK unemployment climbs most since 2009

Bloomberg

UK unemployment rises the most since the financial crisis over the summer, raising questions about how many job cuts could have been avoided had Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced an extension to his furlough program sooner.
The number of people looking for work surged by 243,000 in the three months through September, taking the jobless rate to 4.8%, the highest in four years, the Office for National Statistics said. Job cuts, known as redundancies in the UK, increased by a record 181,000 in the quarter.
Sunak said last week the government will through March pick up 80% of the pay bill for employees unable to work full time because of the coronavirus, prompting economists to predict that unemployment will now peak at a lower level than previously estimated.
But the move came too late for many workers, with firms from pub chain Marston’s Plc to Manchester Airport Group announcing cuts in recent weeks. Furlough was due to end on October 31 to be replaced by a less generous Job Support Scheme, which required an increased contributions from companies.
and was only available to those that were partially operating. Even the JSS was not announced until late September.
“In the Autumn, employers faced difficult decisions around retaining staff as government support looked set to decline,” said Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors. “The extension of the furlough scheme through to March is welcome as it has given directors certainty to plan ahead for their staff. Unfortunately, the change appears to have come too late in the day for some.”
Sunak initially extended furlough until early December as the government announced a new four-week lockdown in an effort to bring a second wave of the virus under control.
Days later, however, the chancellor bowed to pressure from labour unions, opposition politicians and small businesses for 80% support to be made available throughout what’s expected to be a difficult winter, with the economy also facing Brexit chaos unless Britain and the European Union can strike a trade deal by year end.
Government support was reinforced by fresh action from the Bank of England, which boosted its bond-buying program by a larger-than-expected 150 billion pounds ($198 billion) after predicting the economy will shrink this quarter.