Business leaders and trade unions have urged the government to provide continued support for workers to prevent the nascent economic recovery from petering out as the furlough scheme ends in October.
Responding to GDP figures that showed the economy was two months into a recovery from the deepest recession on record, employer organisations and unions told the chancellor to extend furlough or cut employment taxes to avert a jobs disaster.
The Office for National Statistics yesterday revealed that the economy had shrunk by a record 20.4 per cent in the second quarter, despite expanding by 2.4 per cent in March and by 8.7 per cent in June as lockdown restrictions were eased. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research is now forecasting growth of
