UK jobs market showing signs of recovery

With the increase in vaccinations and more businesses reopening, the job market is now showing signs of recovering – unemployment rates are falling and the number of job vacancies is rising.

This however doesn’t apply to the younger generation where unemployment in hospitality remains high.

Reports suggest that the furlough scheme has successfully aided the economy is adding jobs back to pre-covid levels.

For the full story, click here.

Small business calls for support extension to match reopening delay

Small business associations have called for support to be extended to match any delay in reopening due to current lockdown restrictions.

With the final easing of lockdown extended for another four weeks, the worry for businesses needing more help is looming.

From the 1st July, businesses are set to contribute 10% of staff wages to ease out of furlough. Aside from this, lifting the ban on evictions and debt collections from commercial tenants is due to go ahead on June 30th.

Concerns grow as already vulnerable businesses, particularly in industries that have not opened up again fully, could close if no further help is given.

For the full story, click here. 

Furlough will NOT be extended: Rishi Sunak rejects pleas from businesses and says the help scheme will begin to be phased out from July 1 – even though Freedom Day is to be delayed

Demands from businesses to extend the furlough scheme were rejected by Rishi Sunak last night – despite the delay to ending lockdown.

With the current furlough scheme set to start winding down from the 1st July 2021, the hospitality industry believe as many as 200,000 jobs were at risk.

Trade body UKHospitality has called for Mr Sunak to keep the full relief in place for a further three months until the start of October.

For the full story, click here. 

COVID-19: Ban on commercial evictions introduced during the pandemic extended until March 2022

The moratorium was introduced in April 2020 to help struggling businesses through the pandemic and has since been extended twice.

Chief secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay, said the moratorium for business tenants will not expire at the end of this month as planned, and will instead continue until 25 March 2022 – two years after it was introduced.

For the full story, click here. 

UK in talks to build battery ‘gigafactories’ for electric cars

With the push to reach the 2030 goal of removing new sales of petrol and diesel cars, there is a need for an increase in battery factories.

The UK government has held talks with six manufacturers about building “gigafactory” electric car battery plants, as part of its efforts to improve the prospects of the British automotive industry.

Many car brands are in talks with different firms to agree a deal. A spokesperson for Ford said a decision on battery sourcing would be made closer to the new model’s launch in 2023.

For the full story, click here.