UK unemployment figures hit 5% for the quarter to November, modestly higher than the previous quarter which reported 4.9% of the available workforce not working. However, over 200,000 people lost their jobs in this one quarter.

Compared to the same period a year ago, there are now 400,000 more unemployed. The furlough scheme is currently supporting 4.5 million people at great expense and many of these are not expected to have positions to return to when this life saving scheme ends. It is hoped that the Government will consider rolling it over for three months while the vaccine programme rolls out and life gets slowly back to the new normal. We can then deal with the massive economic problems the pandemic is creating .....and the small matter of making the new Brexit requirements work.