UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to announce a set of measures amounting to £4.3 billion (€3.6 billion) in order to tackle potential job losses and the threat of mass unemployment owing to the coronavirus.
Credit: UK Government
He is expected to deliver the keynote to the Commons today and is set to admit that protecting jobs and livelihoods remains his number one priority.
Sunak concludes now is the correct time to begin tackling issues such as this before they become too expensive or difficult to deal with.
Unemployment in the UK rose to 4.8% for the third quarter owing to the effects coronavirus has had on the labour market as well as indecision on the government's part about extending its furlough scheme.
The furlough scheme has been extended until the end of March, and lockdown measures have been put in place for November, but the damage may have already been done.
Treasury figures are expected to show higher levels of unemployment and unsustainable public spending going into the new year.
Its fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, expects coronavirus's effects on the UK economy to still be visible by the time of the next UK general election in December 2024, which could be a deciding factor in the outcome.
According to the watchdog, the UK's public debt shot above £2 trillion (€1.6 trillion) this year.
Thankfully, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ruled out any chance of the austerity policies - cutting public spending to reduce the national debt - that were present during the Cameron government returning.
Sunak has admitted that tax rises will be included as part of the scheme in order to pay off some of the public debt.
However, the chancellor has admitted he wishes to give the public sector some time to breathe before trying to recuperate losses from the pandemic.
The "jobs, jobs, jobs" mantra that has been at the heart of the government's pandemic policy all year appears to be one of the focal points of Sunak's new initiative, however, the Bank of England has admitted unemployment could peak at 7.75% by mid-2021.
Part of this new initiative involves £2.9 billion (€2.43 billion) over a three-year period aimed at funding endeavours to help people who lost their jobs through lockdown find more work. A further £1.4 billion (€1.17 billion) will be funnelled to Jobcentres around the UK to enable them the resources to help Britons find work.
Part of this "Restart" scheme will be in aiding older workers who are more likely to have been severely affected by unemployment.
As of the latest data, unemployment numbers are a little under a million below pre-pandemic levels, and the Bank of Englands forecasts predict this may jump further.
Job losses are a staple throughout Europe owing to the pandemic.
Dairy producer Danone recently cut 2,000 jobs at its main facilities as a part of a "Covid reshuffle" to reorganise its team from the ground up.
German steel group Thyssenkrupp axed another 7,400 jobs after a full-year loss of €5.5 billion.
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