Photo: Xinhua

Britain has seen the largest quarterly drop in employment since 2009, as 220,000 fewer people were on the payroll in the second quarter compared with the previous one, official statistics showed on Tuesday.

Estimates for April to June showed 32.92 million people aged 16 years and over in employment, 113,000 more than a year earlier but 220,000 fewer than the previous quarter, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

A large number of people are estimated to be temporarily away from work, including furloughed workers, approximately 7.5 million in June with over 3 million of these being away for three months or more, the ONS said.

It said the youngest workers, oldest workers and those in manual or elementary occupations were those most likely to be temporarily away from paid work during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ONS said employment is weakening and unemployment is largely unchanged at 3.9 percent because of increases in economic inactivity, with people out of work but not currently looking for work.

Analysts have warned that unemployment will continue to surge when the government's job retention scheme, which pays 80 percent of workers' salary up to 2,500 pounds ($3,268) a month to those furloughed, winds up in October.

People walk past a coffee shop in London, Britain, May 17, 2020. Photo: Xinhua