Eight out of 10 workers in the hotel and restaurant sector have been furloughed alongside two thirds of staff in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry, new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show.
The figures, which are accurate up to 5 April, also show that 41 per cent of construction workers have been furloughed.
At the other end of the scale, only 4 per cent of education workers have been furloughed, with many teachers continuing to teach students over the internet. Only 7 per cent of information and communication workers have been furloughed.
Unsurprisingly, the statistics show businesses that have paused trading are far more likely to have made use of the government’s furlough grant scheme, with 78 per cent of their workers furloughed, than those that have stayed open (14.3 per cent). The government’s scheme covers 80 per cent of furloughed employees’ wages up to £2,500 a year, with payments backdated to March 1.
The furloughing rates largely align with the ability of employees to work from home. Among businesses continuing to trade, people in the accommodation and food service industry are the least likely to be working from home. Information and communication workers (85 per cent), professional, scientific and technical workers (79 per cent), and education workers (78 per cent) are among the most likely to be working from home.
This data chimes with findings by CityMetric last week that showed areas with more white collar workers were seeing larger drops in workplace movement.
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