Recession Like ‘We Have Never Seen'

Chancellor warns of ‘severe slump’ as jobless benefit claims soar to 2.1m

- Martyn Brown

Britain faces a recession like nothing seen before, Rishi Sunak warned yesterday.

Three million people may end up out of work as the coronavirus crisis wreaks havoc, the Chancellor said.

He admitted he focuses constantly on the “degree of long-term scarring” to the economy and what exactly Britain is going to return to once lockdown ends.

And he said bleakly: “Obviously the impact will be severe.

“I won’t be able to protect every job and every business.”

Making no attempt to play down the dangers that lie ahead, Mr Sunak added: “No doubt there will be more hardship to come.

“This lockdown is having a very significant impact on our economy.

“We are likely to face a severe recession, the likes of which we haven’t seen, and that will have an impact on employment.”

He also warned that it is “not obvious there will be an immediate bounceback” for the UK economy once lockdown restrictions are eased. His grim assessment came as the number of people drawing unemployment benefits hit record levels yesterday.

Claims rose by a record 846,500 to 2.1 million in April, the UK’s first full month in lockdown, the Office for National Statistics said.