UK unemployment claims surge 69% as pandemic takes hold

LONDON (AP) — Unemployment claims in Britain jumped 69% in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and hit the labor market, U.K. authorities said Tuesday. The Office of National Statistics says jobless claims surged by 856,000 to 2.1 million in April as compared to the month before. The figures covered only the first weeks of the lockdown, said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS. “In March,…