Data put out by HMRC and the Office for National Statistics show that of the 50,500-strong workforce in Tunbridge Wells, 12,400 are on the scheme.
In Tonbridge & Malling 14,700 of the borough’s 58,800 employees are currently furloughed.
The scheme, which ends in October, sees workers currently paid 80 per cent of their salary by the Government, and has been designed to protect jobs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Across the UK, around 29 per cent of the country’s workforce is being paid through the scheme.
From August, the job retention scheme is winding down, with measures such as asking employers to pay furloughed workers’ National Insurance and pension contributions coming into force.
