Nearly half of all businesses have furloughed staff say Chamber - The Redditch Standard

Nearly half of all businesses have furloughed staff say Chamber

Redditch Editorial 11th May, 2020   0

NEARLY 50 per cent of businesses in Worcestershire and Herefordshire have taken advantage of the government’s coronavirus Job Rentention Scheme by furloughing staff.

And a report by the two counties’ joint Chamber of Commerce indicate that figure is likely to rise.

Nationally the figure stands at more than 70 per cent.

In all, 47 per cent of businesses in Worcestershire and Herefordshire have furloughed a proportion of their staff.




In addition 40 per cent of businesses have reported reduced sales and orders while 21 per cent have initiated a temporary business closure.

However the Chamber adds that with Universal Credit applications rising at rates five times higher than average, the indicators suggest the buoyant labour market is ‘in for a difficult year’.


Nationally 1.4 million people have applied for Universal Credit benefit in the four weeks from March 16 alone.

And it warns that failure the manage the recovery appropriately could see the current decline stretch into a period of stagnation, with dire consequences for the economy in the long term.

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