End of furlough will increase UK unemployment by 150,000, says thinktank

Niesr says even though UK will move from bottom to top of G7 growth table, there will be a hit to jobs

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The ending of the government's furlough scheme will lengthen dole queues by 150,000 despite a boost to activity from the ending of lockdown that will make the UK the fastest-growing G7 nation this year, a leading thinktank has said.

In its quarterly update on the UK, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said it had revised up its 2021 growth forecast from 5.7% to 6.8%.