The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that “more tough times” lay ahead for Britons as over 3m people could lose their jobs over the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), unemployment across the UK could rise from 1.3m to 3.4m.
The fiscal watchdog warned that one in ten of the working population could end up without a job, and Sunak said not every business or household are protected.
However, Sunak did say that we will “bounce back” when the coronavirus crisis eases.
The British Chambers of Commerce said that around one in three British businesses have furloughed between 75% and 100% of their staff amid the crisis.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the global economy could shrink by 3%, suffering the worst year since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
The fiscal watchdog said that public borrowing is expected to increase by £218bn during 2020, compared with March forecast of 14% of GDP, or £273bn.
The OBR said, “That would be the largest single-year deficit since the Second World War.”
Sunak told the daily Downing Street press conference: “These are tough times and there will be more to come. As I have said before, we cannot protect every business and every household.
“But we came into this crisis with a fundamentally sound economy, powered by the hard work and ingenuity of the British people and British businesses.
“So, while those economic impacts are significant, the OBR also expects them to be temporary, with a bounce back in growth.”
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised tax-payers unprecedented help and wants the lockdown lifted as early as 4 May.
Sunak has warned lockdown measures could crash GDP by 30% this quarter, and there are divisions in the Cabinet to ease the lockdown for economic reasons.
However, Whitehall sources have said there is no chance of restrictions being lifted this week, as ministers are in favour of delaying this for weeks.
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