UK spent £69 billion paying wages of furloughed employees

The UK spent 69 billion pounds ($95 billion) paying the wages of furloughed workers by the time the program came to an end last month, according to government figures.

 

The total cost of subsidizing lost earnings touched 97 billion pounds when grants to self-employed workers hit by the pandemic are included, the Office for National Statistics data published Thursday show.

 

The job support programs were the centerpiece of a government response to the pandemic.