LONDON – More than 4 million jobs have been saved in the U.K. as a result of a government scheme aimed at making sure firms hold onto staff during the coronavirus lockdown, Treasury chief Rishi Sunak said Monday.
In a statement to lawmakers, Sunak said half a million firms have taken advantage of the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which sees the government pay up to 80% of the salaries of workers put on furlough up to 2,500 pounds ($3,075) a month.
Without the scheme, many of those jobs would likely have been lost as much of the British economy has been closed to contain the outbreak.
Still, the contraction in economic activity is set to be as deep as any in living memory, with many economists predicting a rise in the