Businesses in the arts and entertainment industry have been hit the hardest by the coronavirus outbreak, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown.
The sector – which includes theatres, museums, betting shops, and sports and fitness facilities such as gyms – has seen 82 per cent of businesses close temporarily, and one in every 100 have shut their doors for good.
In the restaurant and hotel sector, 81 per cent have closed temporarily since social distancing measures were formally introduced on March 23.
There is then a large gap to the third most heavily hit industry, construction, where 29 per cent of businesses have temporarily closed.
Even firms that have managed to keep trading say they are facing huge hurdles. 87 per cent of accommodation and food businesses continuing to trade said turnover was “substantially” lower than normal over the past two weeks, with a further 5 per cent saying it was “slightly” lower.
Human health and social work businesses also reported lower turnovers (98 per cent of businesses overall), as did those in the arts and entertainment industry (97 per cent) and the construction industry (71 per cent).
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