BoE's Bailey says key challenge is to get workers into jobs

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said a key challenge facing Britain's economy was to get people back into work as the coronavirus pandemic fades.

"The challenge of avoiding a steep rise in unemployment has been replaced by that of ensuring a flow of labour into jobs. I want to emphasise that this is a crucial challenge," Bailey told a news conference after the BoE's latest policy announcements and economic forecasts.

The BoE did not expect to see a spike in unemployment when finance minister Rishi Sunak's job-protecting furlough scheme is phased out at the end of September, Bailey said.

(Reporting by David Milliken and William James; Writing by William Schomberg and Costas Pitas; Editing by Toby Chopra)