UK Job Losses Hit Decade-High, Worse Seen Ahead

• The number of people in work in Britain has suffered the biggest drop since 2009 and signs are growing that the coronavirus will take a heavier toll on the labor market as the government winds down its huge job-protection scheme.
• The unemployment rate unexpectedly held at 3.9%. However, that reflected more people who had given up looking for work and therefore were not considered unemployed, and 300,000 people who said they were working but getting no pay, the Office for National Statistics said.
• The number of people claiming universal credit - a benefit for those on low pay as well as the unemployed - rose to 2.69Mn in July, leaping by 117% from March. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2%. Last week, the Bank of England forecast the jobless rate would hit 7.5% by end-2020.

(Source: Reuters)