Doncaster in UK's top 10 furlough towns with quarter of workers laid off

New figures reveal Doncaster has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus shutdown.

In geographical breakdowns of where people across the UK have been furloughed, the numbers for Doncaster revealed 25% of workers on furlough.

In total nearly nine million people have been furloughed across the UK since March.

Most of them were in the automobile (1.6m) or food services and accommodation sector (1.4million) the latest stats showed.

About 800,000 were furloughed in manufacturing, and 679,000 in construction.

According to research from the Centre for Cities, other areas including Crawley, Burnley, Birmingham, Hull and Stoke have also been badly hit.

However, university towns like Oxford and Cambridge saw the lowers numbers of furloughed workers.

Ten towns with the most furloughed workers

Crawley - 33% furloughed

Burnley - 30%

Slough - 27%

Sunderland - 26%

Birmingham - 26%

Hull - 25%

Luton - 25%

Doncaster - 25%

Blackburn - 25%

Stoke - 25%

The Government’s furlough scheme is due to finish at the end of October.

1.1 million businesses have been able to claim up to 80 per cent pay for their workers, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.

2.6million people have made claims for grant support, totaling £7.5billion.

Many businesses are expected to have to lay off workers permanently, however, as hundreds of thousands of them have been shut for nearly three months.

However, shops are now able to open once again, and from July pubs and restaurants are expected to be able to return.

Outdoor attractions including zoos and theme parks have also opened their doors to customers in hopes of returning to a new normal.

The scheme will continue in its current form until the end of July and the changes to allow more flexibility will come in from the start of August. More specific details and information around its implementation will be made available by the end of this month.