UK Public Debt Exceeds £2 Trillion as Pandemic Strains National Economy

"Retail sales have now regained all the ground lost during the height of the coronavirus restrictions as more stores open for trade and online sales remain at historically high levels," ONS statistician Jonathan Athow said Friday.

"While still below their pre-pandemic levels, both fuel and clothing sales continued to recover.

"Meanwhile, food sales fell back from their recent peaks as people started to venture back into pubs and restaurants," Athow added.

Marks and Spencer, the British food and clothes retailer, announced this week that it was cutting 7,000 jobs as Covid-19 increasingly pushes customers to shop online.

The retailer joins the likes of UK department store chains Debenhams and John Lewis, as well as pharmacy group Boots, in cutting thousands of jobs owing to pandemic fallout.

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Britain's economy shrank by one fifth in the second quarter, more than any European neighbor, as the lockdown plunged the country into its deepest recession on record.

Even though the UK economy is beginning to rebound as the government eases strict confinement measures — gross domestic product grew by 8.7 percent in June — analysts expect a surge in unemployment by the end of the year.

In October, Sunak plans to end the government's furlough scheme that is paying up to 80 percent of wages for around 10 million workers during the pandemic. 

(Writers & Editors: BCP/BMM, Agence France-Presse)

Source: http://u.afp.com/3upc