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April 2020 - Business Support

One in four UK businesses have closed temporarily due to COVID-19: A survey of businesses by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found that since lockdown was announced, a quarter have already closed their doors temporarily, or paused trading, due to the pandemic.

The research also found that between March 23 (when lockdown measures were first announced) and April 5, 0.4% of businesses reported shutting down their businesses permanently, while three-quarters reported still being in operation.

The survey, which is the largest coronavirus business impact survey to date, had 5,316 responses. It found that almost two-fifths (38%) of those still trading reported a turnover that is substantially lower than it would be in normal circumstances, while 17% said they were experiencing a 'slightly lower' turnover. Just over a third (35%) said that so far they have been unaffected. 

Also revealed by the research is that since the lockdown began, over 40% of the companies still in operation said they are taking short-term measures to reduce staff numbers, while almost three in ten (29%) said they were asking staff to reduce their working hours.

A fifth of the businesses still trading revealed that they had put around a fifth (21%) of their employees on furlough, making use of the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

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