British finance minister Rishi Sunak will announce new plans to support jobs on Thursday, as fears mount of a surge in unemployment when an existing 52 billion pound ($66 billion) support programme comes to an end in just over a month. Sunak has ruled out a wholesale extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which supported 8.9 million private-sector jobs at its peak in May, but a growing second wave of COVID-19 cases has piled pressure on him to announce a replacement. “As our response to coronavirus adapts, tomorrow afternoon I will update the House of Commons on our plans to continue protecting jobs through the winter,” Sunak said in a statement on Wednesday. Sunak will not now hold a full budget later this year, as previously intended, due to the economic uncertainty created by rising COVID-19 cases, which this week showed their biggest daily increase since May. “No one wanted to be in this situation but we need to respond to it,” a finance ministry source said, adding that Sunak hoped to offer reassurance to workers and businesses. On Tuesday, the government dealt a blow to the hospitality sector by ordering bars and restaurants to shut by 10 p.m., halving the maximum number of people allowed at weddings, and backtracking on calls for employees to return to offices, rather than working from home. Curbs on socialising were likely to last another six months, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned in a national address. The BBC reported that Sunak would announce more financial help for people and businesses where jobs were at risk, probably through the form of wage subsidies for staff who return part-time, but would not target help at specific sectors. Sunak previously said he would be “creative” in finding a way to support employment but has repeatedly stressed it will not be possible to save every job.