UK witnesses biggest quarterly unemployment since 2009 amid coronavirus lockdown

Nearly 7,30,000 people have lost their job in the United Kingdom since the beginning of COVID-19 lockdown in March. The latest set of data, released by Office of National Statistics(ONS), revealed that the second quarter of the year saw the largest quarterly unemployment since the 2009 financial crisis. Attributing the unemployment to the rise in economic inactivity in the country ONS explained that unemployed people were not looking for new work.

“Early indicators for July 2020 suggest that the number of employees in the UK on payrolls is down around 730,000 compared with March 2020," the ONS added.

As per the data, the drop in May, June and July, is mainly because fewer people moved into payroll employment. Despite that, the unemployment rate continued to be 3.9 per cent as 2.7 million were still listed on government-backed furlough scheme, scheduled to end in October.

Commenting on the crisis, Jonathan Athow, ONS national statistician for economic statistics reportedly said that the most affected people were young workers, who were equal to or less than 24 years of age, older workers and those in reunite or less skilled jobs. Finding new jobs for them would be difficult for them, he warned.

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UK in recession?

This comes as Britain’s economy is expected to slump worst as experts predict a GDP drop of seven per cent. The figures, which would be released mid-week, will put the country’s economy in recession for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. As per the economists, two consecutive quarters of economic plunge are required for any country to be called under recession.

The data which would be released by the country’s Office for National Statistics on  August 12 is speculated to show that gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell in the three months to June by 21%. The upcoming figures would reveal the country’s further plunge into recession after the infection spread in March. 

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