Government will help pay wages of one million people as 140,000 firms sign up for furlough scheme

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More than 140,000 firms have applied to the Government’s employee furlough scheme, with grants to help cover the wages of more one million people, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said.

Mr Sunak said the scheme has received 17,500 applications an hour since it was launched at 8am on Monday morning.

The scheme guarantees 80 per cent of wages up to £2,500 a month per employee.

It had initially seen employers claim for 67,000 jobs in the first 30 minutes, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

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