“Over a quarter (27 percent) of responding businesses said they were reducing staff levels in the short term, while 5 percent reported recruiting staff in the short term,” the Office for National Statistics said.
The survey of 3,642 businesses was conducted between March 9 and March 22, covering just a small part of the period after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered a shutdown of much of the country’s economy on March 20.
Another survey published earlier on Thursday, by the British Chamber of Commerce which was conducted between March 25 and March 27, suggested almost half of British companies expected to temporarily lay off 50 percent or more of their workforce.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak has said the British state will pay 80 percent of the wages—up to 2,500 pounds ($3,100) a month—for workers who are temporarily laid off but remain on companies’ books in an attempt to soften an expected surge in unemployment.
The ONS also said its survey showed 45 percent of firms reported lower-than-expected turnover—compared with 5 percent that saw higher sales—and 46 percent had encouraged staff to work from home.
Among companies that import and export significantly, nearly 60 percent said their trade had been affected by the crisis.
