UK Government Hails ‘Huge Success’ as COVID-19 Furlough Scheme Ends

Commuters cross London Bridge on July 19, 2021. Tolga Akmen /AFP via Getty Images

The British government has hailed its COVID-19 job retention scheme as a “huge success” as it is due to close at the end of Thursday.

The £70 billion ($94 billion) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, commonly known as furlough, has supported 11.6 million UK workers over the past 18 months.