The UK economy could fall by 35 per cent in the second quarter of the year with unemployment hitting 3.4 million, according to an analysis from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Experts predicted that the lockdown could leave around one in 10 of the working population without a job. The prediction is based on the UK remaining in lockdown for three months, followed by another three months where restrictions would be partially lifted.
The OBR stressed that this is a single scenario where “for now, we have not assumed the shock has lasting economic consequences” and should not be taken as a sign of what government policy is likely to be.