London, Oct 5 (IANS): The UK will spend over 500 million pounds ($678 million) to help vulnerable workers into jobs after the end of a furlough scheme that protected employed persons from the brunt of Covid-19 pandemic, the government announced.

Workers leaving the furlough scheme launched 18-month ago and unemployed people over the age of 50 will be helped back into work, the Treasury said in a statement.

Those on the lowest wages will also be helped to progress in their careers and existing schemes targeting young people will be extended into next year, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement as saying.

More young people will be able to benefit from the Kickstart Scheme, which is being extended to March 2022 and provides funding to employers to create jobs for these aged 16-24 and on Universal Credit, it said.

Launched since the onset of the pandemic and with over 68 billion pounds ($92 billion) spent, the furlough scheme has protected over 11.6 million jobs during the toughest times.

Nearly 1 million workers were expected to be on the scheme at the end of September, according to research by the Resolution Foundation, a think tank.

Uncertainty remains ahead for people who have not yet fully returned to work, with many forecasters, including the Bank of England, expecting a small rise in unemployment as the scheme ended.