Workers on UK payrolls have dropped by more than 600,000 in the latest sign of how coronavirus is impacting the economy.

Numbers for the period between March and May released this morning by the Office for National Statistics also show job vacancies plunged to a record low.

With millions furloughed under government support schemes, economists are also warning that the picture could deteriorate further once government support is brought to a close.

Premier Miton chief investment officer Neil Birrell says: “It’s important for the UK economy that these numbers start falling quickly as shops open and lockdown eases or else the UK will be in bad shape.”

According to the ONS, for full-time and part-time workers, average actual weekly hours worked had the largest falls to record lows, and the period from March and May saw the largest quarterly decrease to the vacancies total since the data time series started in 2001.

ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the says Jonathan Athow says: “The slowdown in the economy is now visibly hitting the labour market, especially in terms of hours worked.”

However, Reuters’ latest economist poll held a note of positive news, as its experts had anticipated a jump in the jobless rate to 4.7 per cent.

However, for the three months to April, unemployment stayed relatively subdued at 3.9 per cent.