Furlough, furloughed, furloughing - words with which until the end of March 2020 most of us were completely unfamiliar. The dictionary definition of a furlough (noun) is a leave of absence from a job. Its common use was with reference to members of the armed forces but has been co-opted recently to deal with the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in with Covid-19.
In March 2020 the UK Government set up the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to help safeguard millions of jobs as a result of the lockdown implemented on March-23. By the end of May some 7.39 million positions had been furloughed from a total of 34.85 million jobs across Great Britain (21.2%).
Of the 10 authorities with the highest proportion of furloughing, 5 are in Greater London. The highest three are Haringey, Waltham Forest and Lewisham - all in Greater London. At the other end of the spectrum, of the 10 authorities with the lowest levels of furloughing 6 are in Greater London. Figures for City of London are combined with those of Westminster in the CJRS report and give a furloughing proportion of just 1.5%. Camden, Kensington & Chelsea and Islington are all under 10%. Oxford and Cambridge are next at just over 10%.
An interactive version of the map is available here
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