The FTSE was in the red Tuesday morning after new data showed record redundancy for three months through October.
The Blue Chip Index fell by 0.3% as the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that the UK’s unemployment rate was up to 4.9%.
The unemployment rate reached 370,000 in the last quarter. This is an increase of 241,000 in the last quarter and a 411,000 increase over the same period last year.
“The latest data confirms that the coronavirus is heavily weighing on the UK labor market. Suren Thiru, BCC Head of Economics, said:
“The Furlough scheme will help protect many jobs over the winter months, but businesses face further restrictions and a troubling end of the Brexit transition period, but major job losses will be in the short term. It’s highly likely.”
Employment Minister Mims Davis said there is still hope as the vaccine rolls out.
“It has been a really challenging year for many families, but vaccines are starting to roll out to probably follow more, and there are growing numbers of hopeful employment vacancy on the horizon for 2021.
“Our job plans are already helping people of all ages get jobs across the UK. Like an increase in Jobcentru support, a new retraining scheme, a kickstart for our youth “There’s a new job placement, and we decided to get back better, so we should come more,” she said.
On FTSE this morning, Rolls Royce fell 2.9% in the opening after saying it would take five years for the group to recover from the pandemic. RightMove fell 1.8%, with JD Sports winning 3.7% after announcing plans to buy US sportswear brand Shoes Palace in a $325 million deal.
