A recent survey by Lloyds Bank reveals that business confidence across Britain has fallen to the lowest levels seen since the 2008 global financial crisis during the month of May. The bank’s monthly business barometer reading dropped to -33 in May, a low last seen during December 2008.

According to economist at Lloyds Bank, Hann-Ju Ho, “Despite the results partly capturing the period since the government’s announcement of an initial easing of restrictions, trading conditions remain difficult for most firms.”

In more worrying news for the British economy, another survey by Make UK indicates that around 25% companies are considering making their staff redundant over the next six months owing to rising uncertainty about business conditions even as the UK begins to reopen its economy. An increasing number of businesses surveyed expect the economy to take over a year to post recovery in the aftermath of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The manufacturing sector has been hit especially hard, with UK’s famed automobile sector having produced just 197 vehicles during April through the lockdown. Even after the government has approved plans to resume economic activity and businesses gear up to restart operations, leading car manufacturers are planning to put off restarting their plants until next month as a result of the heightened uncertainty.