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The number of Northern Ireland jobs supported by the furlough scheme rose by 12% over a matter of months, according to official figures.
A HMRC report on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) found that 106,200 local positions were being supported by the CJRS at the end of January.
At its peak during the summer, 249,600 Northern Ireland jobs were enrolled on the CJRS.
Numbers fell to 68,000 in October, before climbing to 94,800 after the introduction of further Covid restrictions, including a full lockdown from December 26.
While there were 106,200 furloughed positions at the end of January, the number was slightly higher, at 114,500, on January 20.
Marks & Spencer has saved nearly £50,000 in a year s rates holiday for a Simply Food store here, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.
The shop on Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast qualified for the relief to help retail survive through lockdowns and the pandemic.
Lidl, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury s have already restored funds which they saved on a full year s rates relief in the UK as a whole.
But M&S has said it will not be repaying the amount it has saved.
Unlike the rest of the UK, where all retailers qualified from a year s rates rebate, the NI Department of Finance had excluded food stores of more than 500 sq m. But the smaller-scale Ballyhackamore shop qualified.
Richard Ramsey
JANUARY 2021 represents more than just the start of a new year. It marks the new post Brexit-era, and it brings us a step closer to a post-Covid era with the ramping up of the vaccine roll out.
In some respects, this month therefore marks a turning point for Northern Ireland and our economy, and a time when we should really take stock of where we are and where we are going in the future.
In doing so, we should reflect on how, during the Covid pandemic, our politicians, public sector, businesses and people at various times showed adaptability, agility and the ability to take very tough decisions. Changes were made that, pre the pandemic, would have been considered decade long projects.