UK companies claiming furlough decline by 12,000 in February

(Sharecast News) - The number of UK companies that have claimed furlough dropped from the January peak of 852,000 by 12,000 in the month of February.
Nonetheless, there were still over 840,000 dependent on the government's scheme for aid to pay staff.

The latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs follow a jump in the number of firms drawing on the scheme by more than 100,000 between December and January.

Yet the drop was likely to have accelerated significantly further since then, as the economy slowly reopens.

According to the Guardian, HMRC also removed more than 400 companies from the data as they had payed back furlough support once it was no longer needed.

The latest data also revealed that the largest claimants came from the the hospitality and travel sectors, both of which were still struggling to get back on their feet.