London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Jobs scheme 'won't stop major rise in unemployment'

Jobs scheme 'won't stop major rise in unemployment'

Rishi Sunak's new jobs support scheme will slow but not stop, "major" job losses, influential think tank the Resolution Foundation has warned.

The chancellor said he hoped the new plan, announced on Thursday, would "benefit large numbers".

But the Resolution Foundation said the fact firms had to pay employees for hours not worked meant many would have "little or no incentive" to use it.

The plan "will not significantly reduce the rise in unemployment," it said.

The Foundation also highlighted that around six million of the UK's poorest households could see their incomes cut by £20 a week from next April, when the government's temporary boost to basic benefits comes to an end.

The Job Support Scheme, which will replace the furlough scheme, will see workers get three quarters of their normal salaries for six months.

To be eligible, employees must work for at least one third of their normal hours.

For the hours not worked, the government and employer will each pay one-third of the remaining wages.

Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said the higher contribution required from firms, compared to the furlough scheme, meant the new Job Support Scheme "will not live up to its promise to significantly reduce the rise in unemployment."



At the start of the pandemic the government sought to reduce the economic impact of lockdown measures by temporarily boosting the standard allowance you collect if you claim benefits by £20 to £94.25 a week.

That served to soften the income shock endured by workers moving from a job to benefits, which pay less than a fifth of the average wage.

The Resolution Foundation's analysis points out that the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has chosen not to extend that temporary boost beyond April next year.

That means that in April, at a time when unemployment is likely to be rising quickly, well over six million families already on benefits will see their incomes cut by £20 a week.

And because they'd be forced to spend less, it would also reduce the overall level of demand in the economy, making more job losses more likely.

The Foundation's report notes, for example, that it would cost a firm £1,500 to employ one full-time worker on £17,000, but more than £2,000 a month to employ two half-time workers on the same full-time equivalent salary.

One full-time worker on £10,000 would cost £800 a month, compared with £1,100 a month for two half-time workers.

The government has stressed the scheme has been gratefully received in many quarters.

The chief secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay, told BBC Breakfast that "many employers value the flexibility of being able to tailor how much time employees are working as we go through uncertainty of winter months".

Mr Barclay said the scheme has been "so warmly welcomed" by the likes of the CBI, FSB, business leaders and trade unions, as well as sectors such as aerospace and hospitality,

He said that businesses want to retain their skills and expertise of the labour market, and "wanted the ability to bring people back on a part time basis".

Missing out


The Foundation said that a single adult homeowner earning £20,000-a-year would face an income reduction of around 19% if they worked a third of their previous hours on the jobs support scheme, compared with a 70% drop were they to lose their job completely and move onto Universal Credit.

However, employees only benefit from the Job Support Scheme (JSS) where employers choose to use it, and the scheme is far less generous for firms which gives them little or no incentive to use it, the Foundation said.

Meanwhile, industries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic are facing further uncertainty after missing out on help in the chancellor's new emergency jobs scheme.

Hospitality, events and retail workers and businesses have expressed concern, as have those on zero-hours contracts.

Rishi Sunak said employees must be in "viable" jobs to benefit from the wage top-up scheme.

This means people working in industries currently closed - such as nightclubs - may lose out as there isn't any work.

Mr Sunak said he hoped the new plan, announced on Thursday, would "benefit large numbers", but warned the government "can't save every job".

Opposition politicians have called for more emphasis on training for workers losing their jobs.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds told the BBC a national training strategy was needed "so that when people become unemployed, they can hopefully be retrained with new skills".

The Lib Dems' Christine Jardine also criticised the lack of focus on training. She told the BBC that while the jobs plan was described as a "bridge for the economy", she wanted to know "where will it take us?"

How will the Job Support Scheme work?


* The government will subsidise the pay of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due to lower demand

* It will apply to staff who can work at least a third of their usual hours

* Employers will pay staff for the hours they work

* For the hours employees can't work, the government and the employer will each cover one third of the lost pay

* The grant will be capped at £697.92 per month

* All small and medium-sized businesses will be eligible

* Larger business will be eligible if their turnover has fallen during the crisis

* It will be open to employers across the UK even if they have not used the furlough scheme

* It will run for six months starting in November

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×