ANOTHER 590,000 people were removed from the Government’s furlough programme in June, as the scheme will taper off further this weekend.

Official data shows that 1.9 million people were still furloughed by the end of June, a reduction from 2.4 million a month earlier.

June’s numbers are the last before the scheme started to shift more of the burden from the Treasury to companies.

In July, employers had to pick up 10% of their employees’ salaries, while Government support dropped from 80% to 70%.

Starting on Sunday, this will be reduced further to 60%, with employers picking up 20% of the furlough pay in August and September. After that, the scheme will end.

Going into July, more than one in four employers still had some of their staff on furlough. Unless these staff are made redundant, or brought back to work, keeping them on furlough through the month will cost businesses millions of pounds.

The number of people on furlough has been dropping since January when 5.1 million workers were stuck at home.

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They were guaranteed 80% of their salaries – to a limit – from the Government scheme.

But things improved with the lifting of lockdown restrictions, which had prevented businesses from trading normally, or even opening at all.

Some businesses are still heavily affected by the pandemic. Data released on Thursday shows that 58% of jobs at UK airlines are still furloughed.

Travel agencies and tour operators, photographers and the arts also still have many people on furlough.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “It’s fantastic to see businesses across the UK open, employees returning to work and the numbers of furloughed jobs falling to their lowest levels since the scheme began.

“I’m proud our plan for jobs is working and our support will continue in the months ahead.”

Young people have been the most likely to be on furlough throughout much of the pandemic, but this changed in June when they moved off the scheme twice as fast as all other age brackets.

In total, 600,000 under-25s were either brought back to work or made redundant.

Now, staff over 65 have the highest furlough levels of any age group.

With furlough ending in September and the £20 Universal Credit uplift for struggling families being withdrawn in the same month, SNP shadow chancellor Alison Thewliss has questioned the UK Government's priorities after the green-lighting of a £250m "floating embassy".

She said Sunak "should use his visit to Scotland today apologise to the people and businesses here" for the "premature" end of furlough support in September, which she said is "risking thousands of unnecessary redundancies".

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak urged to apologise to public during visit to Scotland today

Thewliss went on: "Many sectors and businesses across the UK are still not operating at full capacity, and many of those that are will need continued support to stay afloat. That must include action on the looming debt crisis facing businesses through the repayment of UK government business loans.

"I would urge Rishi Sunak to explain to the people of Scotland why he is short-changing us on youth jobs, and ploughing ahead with Universal Credit cuts that will undermine the Scottish Child Payment and plunge half a million people into poverty, when at the same time he can find £250m for a UK government yacht.

"As for his boasts about the supposed strength of the UK, the reality is that the UK is the poorest country per head amongst its neighbours in north-west Europe, with countries similar in size or smaller than Scotland being the fairest and most prosperous. It is increasingly clear that the only way to keep Scotland safe from Tory austerity is to become an independent country.”