With over 600,000 jobs lost, UK unemployment worse than Great Depression

The actual spike in unemployment would have been much higher were it not for the British govt's Job Retention Scheme, which has been paying a high proportion of the salaries of nearly 9 mn people

The number of people in the UK claiming job-related benefits increased by a monthly 23.3% in May to 2.8 million, according to official figures released Tuesday that likely underestimate the toll on the labour market of the coronavirus lockdown.

The statistics agency also said the number of people on payroll fell by 2.1%, or 612,000, between March and May.

The Office for National Statistics said that the so-called claimant count - which includes both people who work on reduced income or hours and those who are actually unemployed - was 125.9% higher than in March, when the country was