Furlough scheme analysed: More women than men covered
Posted: Thu 6th May 2021
Businesses have furloughed more female than male employees through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), new government data has revealed.
The statistics showed there were 2.37m women on furlough at 28 February, with provisional figures showing it had fallen to 2.12m by 31 March. In contrast, there were 2.17m men on furlough on 28 February and 1.95m on 31 March.
By age, the 18-24 range had the highest number of furloughed employees with females the majority.
Employments on furlough at 31 March 2021 (provisional), by age and gender of employee:
Across all businesses, 41% of employers had staff on furlough on 28 February. This decreased to 39% by 31 March with the data showing that all sectors saw a reduction in levels of furlough between February and March.
With accommodation and food services businesses among those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the industry had the highest take-up rate at 28 February with 70% of eligible firms putting staff on furlough. Breaking the sector down further showed beverage serving businesses had a take-up rate of 92%.
When looking at the total number of staff on furlough, restaurants and mobile food businesses had the highest amount of 28 February with 447,000. There were 410,000 at 31 March.
Employments on furlough by sector as at 28 February 2021:
When it comes to the proportion of eligible businesses who used the scheme, it was most popular with companies employing between two and four staff. In contrast, employers with 250 or more employees had the lowest take-up rate 8% of workers on furlough. The average for all firms was 14%.
Limited company directors who pay themselves a salary as the sole employee can use the scheme. The data showed 181,600 of those were furloughed on 31 March, claiming £714m.
Total employments on furlough (millions) by employer size (number of employees), 23 March 2020 to 31 March 2021:
CJRS claims by employer size as at 31 March 2021 (provisional):
The 10 local authorities with the highest take up rates were Eden and South Lakeland in Cumbria, Scarborough, Isle of Wight, Crawley and the London authorities of Brent, Ealing Haringey, Hounslow and Newham. The Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands had the lowest take-up rates at 8%.
With 62,000, Birmingham was the location with the highest number of furloughed workers, a take-up rate of 15%.
Employments on furlough as a proportion of eligible employments at 31 March 2021 (provisional), by local authority:
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is due to end in September. More details here.
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