LONDON: The number of people in work in Britain fell by the most since 2009 in the three months through June as the coronavirus crisis took a heavy toll on the labor market, even with the government’s huge jobs protection scheme still in place.
Led by a record plunge in self-employed workers, there were 220,000 less people employed in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.
Separate tax data for July showed that the number of staff on company payrolls had fallen by 730,000 since March, sounding the alarm about a potentially much bigger rise in joblessness.
Mounting job losses are expected as Britain winds down its job retention scheme which protects employees. It is due to close at the end of October.
“The cracks evident in the latest batch of labor market data are likely to soon turn into a chasm,” said Ruth Gregory, senior economist at Capital Economics.
British finance minister Rishi Sunak said the figures showed the government’s support programs were working but job losses were inevitable.
“I’ve always been clear that we can’t protect every job, but ... we have a clear plan to protect, support and create jobs to ensure that nobody is left without hope,” he said.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly held at 3.9 percent but that reflected an increase in people who had given up looking for work and who were therefore not considered to be unemployed, and people who said they were in work but were getting no pay.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2 percent. Last week the Bank of England forecast the jobless rate would hit 7.5 percent at the end of this year.
“Government needs to step in and help those who are likely to lose their job retrain for new openings in different sectors,” KPMG economist Yael Selfin said.
The number of self-employed people fell by a record amount in the three months to June, led by older workers, while the number of employees rose — something the ONS said was partly accounted for by workers reclassifying themselves as employed.
The number of people claiming universal credit — a benefit for the unemployed and those on low pay — rose to 2.689 million in July, leaping by 117 percent from March.
Pay fell by the most in more than 10 years in the April-June period, down 1.2 percent, reflecting how workers on the job retention scheme receive 80 percent of their pay. Excluding bonuses, pay fell for the first time since records began in 2001.
However, there was a small increase in job vacancies in the three months to July.
“The increase was driven by small businesses (less than 50 employees), some of which reported taking on staff to meet coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines,” the ONS said.
UK suffers biggest job losses since 2009 as coronavirus takes toll
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UK suffers biggest job losses since 2009 as coronavirus takes toll
- Mounting job losses are expected as Britain winds down its job retention scheme which protects employees
Saudi POS transactions see 20% surge to hit $4bn: SAMA
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s total point-of-sale transactions surged by 20.4 percent in the week ending Nov. 29, to reach SR15.1 billion ($4 billion).
According to the latest data from the Saudi Central Bank, the number of POS transactions represented a 9.1 percent week-on-week increase to 240.25 million compared to 220.15 million the week before.
Most categories saw positive change across the period, with spending on laundry services registering the biggest uptick at 36 percent to SR65.1 million. Recreation followed, with a 35.3 percent increase to SR255.99 million.
Expenditure on apparel and clothing saw an increase of 34.6 percent, followed by a 27.8 percent increase in spending on telecommunication. Jewelry outlays rose 5.6 percent to SR354.45 million.
Data revealed decreases across only three sectors, led by education, which saw the largest dip at 40.4 percent to reach SR62.26 million.
Spending on airlines in Saudi Arabia fell by 25.2 percent, coinciding with major global flight disruptions. This followed an urgent Airbus recall of 6,000 A320-family aircraft after solar radiation was linked to potential flight-control data corruption. Saudi carriers moved swiftly to implement the mandatory fixes.
Flyadeal completed all updates and rebooked affected passengers, while flynas updated 20 aircraft with no schedule impact. Their rapid response contained the disruption, allowing operations to return to normal quickly.
Expenditure on food and beverages saw a 28.4 percent increase to SR2.31 billion, claiming the largest share of the POS. Spending on restaurants and cafes followed with an uptick of 22.3 percent to SR1.90 billion.
The Kingdom’s key urban centers mirrored the national decline. Riyadh, which accounted for the largest share of total POS spending, saw a 14.1 percent surge to SR5.08 billion, up from SR4.46 billion the previous week. The number of transactions in the capital reached 75.2 million, up 4.4 percent week-on-week.
In Jeddah, transaction values increased by 18.1 percent to SR2.03 billion, while Dammam reported a 14 percent surge to SR708.08 million.
POS data, tracked weekly by SAMA, provides an indicator of consumer spending trends and the ongoing growth of digital payments in Saudi Arabia.
The data also highlights the expanding reach of POS infrastructure, extending beyond major retail hubs to smaller cities and service sectors, supporting broader digital inclusion initiatives.
The growth of digital payment technologies aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives, promoting electronic transactions and contributing to the nation’s broader digital economy.
