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Nearly nine million furloughed while 750,000 firms receive ‘bounce back’ loans

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Posted:
02/06/2020
Updated:
02/06/2020

Close to nine million people have been furloughed under the government’s job retention scheme, Treasury figures show.

Employers are now claiming a total of £17.5bn to cover the wages of staff who are on temporary leave during the coronavirus lockdown, up from £15bn a week ago.

As of Sunday, 8.7 million workers had been furloughed by 1.1 million firms.

Meanwhile, claims made by self-employed workers who are struggling during the pandemic have risen by 200,000 to 2.5 million in the past week.

The total value of claims made under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which launched on 13 May, is now £7.2bn, up from £6.8bn.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed the furlough scheme will continue until the end of October. It was originally due to run until June.

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However, employers will be expected to contribute towards furloughed workers’ wages from September.

Sunak has also announced a “second and final” grant will be available for self-employed workers from August.

Meanwhile, nearly 750,000 small businesses have received ‘Bounce Back’ loans from the government to help them survive the coronavirus crisis.

Treasury figures show £21.3bn has been loaned under the scheme to 699,354 businesses.

The scheme allows small firms and sole traders to apply for a 100% state-backed loan of between £2,000 and £50,000, capped at 25% of a company’s turnover.

No interest or repayments are due for the first 12 months. After this period, all lenders who offer the loans will charge a fixed annual interest rate of 2.5%.