Nearly half of UK employees commuted to work last week
Almost half of UK employees travelled to work last week, the Office of National Statistics has revealed this morning, as the country continues to lift its coronavirus lockdowns.
According to the data, 49 per cent of workers commuted to their place of employment in the week ending 28 June, up from 44 per cent the week before.
Likewise, the proportion of those working exclusively from home fell from 33 per cent to 29 per cent over the same period.
After three months where all but those workers deemed essential have been forced to work from home, the statistics are a sign that increasing numbers of people are keen to return to their old style of working as quickly as they can.
This weekend a swathe of new restrictions are set to be relaxed, with the public soon to be able to visit museums, art galleries, pubs, cafes, cinemas and hairdressers.
However, public opinion regarding the lifting of the restrictions has faltered in recent days, with increasing fears that the new rules go too far too fast.
According to pollster YouGov, Public support for hospitality businesses to reopen this weekend has dropped from 64 per cent to 55 per cent while opposition to the new measures has hiked from 29 per cent to 38 per cent.
Almost half of people now think the new changes go too far in relaxing the rules, as BorisJohnson prepares to ditch the two-metre social distancing rule for new “one metre-plus” guidance.
This compares to 37 per cent of people who last week thought the lockdown lifting measures went too far.
The same figure now thinks the balance is “about right”, down from 47 per cent in the wake of Johnson’s announcement.