UK faces record 4.5MILLION unemployed

The UK is facing an unemployment crisis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with up to 4.5million people left without jobs, Boris Johnson has reportedly warned cabinet members.

The Prime Minister has told cabinet members to brace for a spike in unemployment figures, which could reach the highest number since records began.

It comes after a poll revealed how a third of companies in the UK are poised to make workers redundant due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that economic activity was down by 20.4 per cent in April - the largest drop in a single month since records began in 1997, and worse than many experts were forecasting.

On Sunday, a survey by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), revealed how 34 per cent of managers are set to make staff redundant due to the impact of coronavirus.

As many as 26 per cent are expecting to make the cuts this year, the survey shows. 

Senior government ministers are bracing for a spike in unemployment figures, which are set to be released in two days. 

The last month's figure of 1.3million unemployed could rise to two million, government chiefs fear, while, according to The Times, ministers fear it could rise to 4.5million over the next year.