Coronavirus (COVID-19) roundup: 16 July 2020

ONS have published the latest figures on the UK labour market, including estimates of employment, pay and vacancies.

They have also published the latest social and economic indicators from our rapid response surveys.

Some of the main points include:

• Early indicators for June 2020 suggest that the number of paid employees in the UK is down by 650,000 compared with March 2020 (although the rate of decline has slowed since the start of the pandemic)

• The average number of actual hours worked per week fell by a record 5.5 hours on the year to an all-time low of 26.6 hours in March to May 2020 

• Pay fell according to most measures in April 2020, declining more in industries where furloughing was most prominent (for example, accommodation and food services)

• Job vacancies in the three months to June 2020 were at the lowest level since the survey began in 2001, at an estimated 333,000

• While some parts of the economy are continuing to open up, nearly half of businesses (48%) in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector were temporarily closed between 15 and 28 June and did not intend to restart trading in the next two weeks (the highest of any industry)

• The construction sector saw the largest proportion of staff returning from furlough in the last two weeks, at more than one-fifth of the workforce (21%)

Read the ONS roundup