Alarming figures show that one in four businesses have closed down or even temporarily have ceased trading due to the lockdown.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures reveal that 25% of UK businesses have closed, whilst 50% have reported lower than usual turnover.
21% of the UKs workforce have been furloughed and 41% of businesses are “reducing staff levels in the short term” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
5,316 companies undertook the ONS survey two weeks before the 5 April. The ONS learned that 5% of the UKs workforce are off sick and in self isolation.
Iain Bell, deputy national statistician for public policy at the ONS said, “It’s never been more important, or more appreciated, that businesses and individuals give their time to tell us about their experiences.
“The information from these surveys is providing vital insight to the UK government into how people are responding to, and feeling about, the current situation, including their anxieties and measures that are helping them to cope.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has previously said, “This is going to be hard. Our economy is going to take a significant hit.”
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