There were 819,000 fewer workers on UK company payrolls in November than at the start of the pandemic, official figures show. Hospitality was the worst hit sector, accounting for a third of the job losses, followed by retail, according to the Office for National Statistics. The unemployment rate has risen to 4.9%, or by 1.7 million, in the three months to October. And redundancies hit a record high over the period. The figures show that firms laid off more staff in anticipation of the end of the furlough scheme, which was originally supposed to finish in October. However, the wage support programme has since been ... (full story)