UK businesses have said that thousands of employees have returned from furlough in the past two weeks, while there has also been a jump in companies restarting their operations, according to new figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that trading companies saw 7% of their workforce return from furlough, representing thousands of workers, in its latest survey on the impact of coronavirus.

Many workers came back from furlough during the two-week survey period to June 28 after retailers were given the go-ahead to reopen their doors.

It also said firms reported that 3% of their workforce returned from remote working over the period.

Meanwhile, the ONS said that 88% of UK firms were trading over the period, with 4% of these restarting work in the preceding two-week period.

The figures said that 4% of businesses were not trading but intended to restart operations over the next two weeks, as more hospitality firms open their doors.

The new data also revealed that 43% of businesses currently trading said they had less than six months of cash reserves.

Meanwhile, around 3% said they had no cash reserves at all, with this increasing to 10% of firms who had paused trading.

VAT returns figures for the quarter to the end of June also revealed that there were around 100,000 more firms reporting decreasing turnover compared to the previous quarter.