Two thirds of businesses in the UK have applied for the Government furlough scheme, official figures show.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) data reveals that 66 per cent of firms have sought help from the emergency funding pot, but less than a fifth have received it.
The furlough scheme, which opened last Monday, sees the Treasury pay 80 per cent of employees’ wages up to £2,500 a month to save them being laid off.
Meanwhile, 56 per cent of companies have also applied for the VAT deferral scheme, although just 42 per cent have received the support.
In a sign of the economic toll of the pandemic, almost a quarter of 5,158 firms surveyed by the ONS had seen revenues slashed by more than a half.
Of those continuing to trade during the crisis, 57 per cent reported their turnover had decreased in some way, while 13 per cent expected revenues to fall “substantially” in the next two weeks
Government figures last week showed businesses had applied for 3.8 million workers to be furloughed since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
Applications worth around £4.5 billion had been made as of April 24, with 77,000 new claims on Thursday last week alone.
The furlough scheme is due to run until the end of June after Chancellor Rishi Sunak extended it by a month.
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Pressure is mounting on ministers to set out a lockdown exit strategy amid fears prolonged curbs could devastate the economy.
