BRITISH households could lose £515 in income every month as the coronavirus crisis hits wallets, according to new analysis.
Lockdown measures and job losses are forcing the UK into one of the deepest recession in decades.
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Analysis from the Centre for Economic and Business Research consultancy firm estimates there will be £43billion less cash for Brits as people lose jobs entirely, are given reduced pay and hours, or are furloughed.
Despite the Government's best efforts to "put its arms around" the British economy, Brits will still face losing essential household income.
The CEBR calculated the monthly hit will reach £14.2billion – or £515 per household, according to The Guardian.
As the Government's Job Retention Scheme opens up today, data due this week will show the early signs of the economic blow to the nation.
The CEBR predicted the pandemic will cause the deepest recession since the financial crisis, with unemployment more than doubling and the lowest-paid workers being hit the hardest.
They said benefits claims won't entirely fill the gap in disposable incomes.
A number of retailers including Debenhams, Oasis, Warehouse and Laura Ashley have been forced into administration as the shutdown takes its toll on the already cash-strapped high street.
But CEBR estimated the blow to households would have been twice as bad as current estimates if the Job Retention scheme, which gives furloughed workers 80 per cent of their pay up to £2500 a month, had not been introduced.
The majority of workers on the scheme have seen a 20 per cent hit to their incomes.
UK retail sales are expected to have fallen by up to 10 per cent last month, after all non-essential shops were closed on March 23.
The Treasury's own internal assessment of the impact of coronavirus has warned there may be a permanent impact on the economy and it could take years to recover from the shock, according to The Times.
The longer the lockdown continues, the worse the economic hit will be, the assessment said.
It comes as ministers try to dismiss suggestions the decision over ending the lockdown is between saving the economy and saving lives.
Michael Hewson from financial broker CMC Markets said: "these numbers are likely to be awful, supermarket food sales notwithstanding."
"Fuel sales are likely to have contributed a good proportion of losses as everyone is confined to their home."
The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated last week that up to 2.1 million people could lose their jobs, after 950,000 people applied for universal credit in the second half of March.
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The OBR's analysis said it would be the worst recession in 300 years.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said after the release of OBR's numbers: "This is unprecedented times and an unprecedented crisis and that called for an unprecedented economic response.
"So in that sense, it's not surprising to see some of these figures, as it’s unlike anything we’ve dealt with before."
He said the UK economy would "bounce back" as the country started to open up again.
But Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said the OBR's modelling was "very optimistic".
He said: "It is more likely than not that there will be a medium to long-term scarring.
"Even if we're fully out of lockdown, it seems to me unlikely the world trading system will be right back where it was."
The Job Retention Scheme, open for applications today, will cost the public purse £4o billion in its first March to May phase, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank.
The scheme has now been extended until June, as PM Boris Johnson deliberates over how and when to ease lockdown measures while recovering from his stint in intensive care.
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