Boris Johnson has warned the UK has a "long, long way to go" before the economy improves, after official figures showed the largest drop in employment in over a decade. However, the Prime Minister insisted parts of the economy were "showing great resilience". Between April and June, the number of people in work fell by 220,000, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The drop in the number of people employed was the largest quarterly decrease since May to July 2009, the depths of the financial crisis. The figures do not include the millions of people who are furloughed, those on zero-hours contracts but not getting shifts, or people on temporary unpaid leave from a job, as they still count as employed.
Mr Johnson said he had "absolutely no doubt" that government schemes would "help this country get through it", adding: "it will get through it stronger than ever before". The youngest workers, oldest workers and th ose in manual occupations were the worst hit during the pandemic, the ONS added. Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, suggested the furlough scheme will need to be reviewed “and the option of a meaningful extension to furloughing should be kept open."
Read more: Daily Mail