Full-time unemployment up by half since outbreak

When the first Faroese person tested COVID-19 positive on 3 March, there were 280 full-time unemployed individuals in the country.

This number has risen steadily since then, and today the total number is 429, which is an increase of 53 percent in just over two months.

The number of people registered in the coronavirus job retention scheme, on the other hand, has been on a steady decline in the past three weeks.

 >> SEE ALSO More than 4,000 sign up for job retention scheme

Today, 2,866 people, compared to 4,047 three weeks ago, are receiving stimulus payments from the employment service, as part of the government’s job retention scheme.

The scheme was implemented to support companies hit by the corona crisis by temporarily helping to pay the wages of people who cannot do their jobs due to the lockdown, thus allowing employees to stay on the payroll despite not working.

Translated by prosa.fo