The government has not announced any further job support measures in response to the one-month delay in the lifting of restrictions.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reported to have rejected calls from businesses for an extension of the furlough scheme.
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The Treasury has said that Sunak had accommodated lockdown easing delays when he extended furlough until the end of September.
From 1 July, employers will have to pay 10% of an employee’s wage, rising to 20% in August, as taxpayer support is cut from 80%.
Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said companies should not suffer further because of the delay to lockdown ending. “The price of any delay to the roadmap must not be paid by businesses,” he said.
Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses have been offered 100% relief on business rates – the tax paid on the premises they occupy – since last March. It is due to be cut to 66% from 1 July but will remain in place until the end of March 2022.
Figures released by the ONS earlier this month revealed that the number of furloughed workers fell by 880,000 in April – and by 1.6 million since January – as the economy began to reopen.
A spokesperson for the Treasury said: “The furlough scheme is in place until the end of September – we deliberately went long with our support to provide certainty to people and businesses over the summer.
“The number of people on the furlough scheme has already fallen to the lowest level this year, with more than 1 million coming off the scheme in March and April – showing our plan for jobs is working.
“Businesses can also continue to access other support including business rates cuts, VAT cuts and our recovery loan scheme.”
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