By Q Radio News
An initial assessment of current circuit breaker restrictions reveals that they could lead to a loss of around £400million to the economy.
This includes direct and indirect losses along with the costs of a potential delay to the partial recovery.
It comes on top of losses of £4-5billion already caused by the impact of Covid-19 and the original lockdown earlier this year.
Minister Diane Dodds said: “This initial analysis carried out by my officials provides important evidence of the profound impact the Covid-19 restrictions have had on our economy.
“The four-week circuit breaker had a direct impact on around 60,000 jobs with severe financial consequences in particular for people working in accommodation and food, close contact services, supply chain businesses, and the arts, entertainment and recreation sectors.
“Indicators are that females, younger workers and those on low pay may have been most adversely affected.”
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