There are fears the four-week delay to fully unlocking Covid restrictions will harm many firms, and the government has said it will not extend the furlough scheme or other financial support.
The living standards think-tank the Resolution Foundation also estimates there are still 2.8 million people who remain on furlough and self-employed income support schemes who need to find work as support is withdrawn.
What’s unlike any other economic crisis of the past 50 years is that in this one, it’s London that’s been hardest hit by unemployment.
With financial sector employees continuing to work from home in large numbers, there’s less demand for the restaurants, coffee shops and shops that cater for the City of London’s much-reduced army of commuters.