Around 600,000 UK employers are at risk of business collapse in the spring if an extension in Government support schemes is not provided, according to a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).
Up to nine million jobs may be affected without an extension of business support schemes.
The coronavirus job retention scheme and the self-employed income support scheme are both due to end in April.
Many firms are also expected to start to pay back Government-backed loans taken out during the pandemic, as well as backdated VAT bills for the past year.
The IPPR is calling on the Chancellor for “rapid action” to save businesses on which “UK economic recovery will depend” when lockdown restrictions are lifted, by extending and enlarging business support.
Carsten Jung, IPPR’s senior economist, said:
“In just a few weeks, UK businesses face a dangerous precipice when the many kinds of government support that have kept them going for a year are suddenly taken away.
“For the sake of economic recovery, businesses should be given a boost. The time for action to save our economy is now.”
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