UK unemployment hits highest level in three years

1.5 million people unemployed by end of August

Unemployment has surged to its highest level in three years as the coronavirus continues to take its toll on the economy.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.5% in the three months to August. The number of jobless people rose by 138,000 to 1.52 million - the highest since 2017. Redundancies increased by a record 114,000 during the quarter to 227,000, the highest level since the financial crisis in 2009. Coronavirus Blog: Johnson to unveil three-tier system for controlling Covid-19 in address to nation - reports "The latest monthly tax numbers show that the number of employees on the payroll was little changed in September. However, ...