Small businesses in Carlisle are facing new unforeseen challenges as the Government attempts to restart the economy despite a spike in Covid-19 cases at the beginning of July.

Amidst this pressure, over 1,000 more workers in Carlisle came off furlough in June, figures show, ahead of a reduction in Government support for employees' wages.

The Resolution Foundation said it is vital that as many furloughed staff as possible return to work soon, to limit the rise in unemployment after the scheme ends.

The latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that 2,500 jobs held by workers living in Carlisle were furloughed as of June 30 – 5% of all that were eligible. That was 1,200 fewer than the 3,700 furloughed at the end of May..

The number of workers still furloughed fell to 1.9 million in June – the lowest level since the start of the pandemic. June’s numbers are the last before the scheme started to shift more of the burden from the Treasury to companies.

From Sunday (August 1), employers will cover 20% of the furlough pay until the scheme comes to a close at the end of September.

Despite the number of people on the scheme falling below 2 million for the first time, the Resolution Foundation said that the economy's reliance on furlough was still a "cause for concern".

Charlie McCurdy, economist at the think-tank, said: “With employer contributions to furloughed staff doubling, and the scheme ending completely in just two months’ time, it’s vital that as many furloughed staff as possible return to work soon, in order to limit the rise in unemployment this autumn.”

The number of people on furlough has been dropping since January when 5.1 million workers were stuck at home.

But things improved with the lifting of lockdown restrictions, which had prevented businesses from trading normally, or even opening at all.

Following the reopening of indoor hospitality in May, the accommodation and food services sector saw the highest numbers of UK workers coming off furlough in June.

This was also the case in Carlisle, with the number of furloughed hospitality employees falling by 520, from 1,090 to 570.

With staff numbers afflicted due to the ongoing ramifications of the 'Pingdemic', this has presented a fresh problem for businesses.

The manager Carole Johnston of the popular John Watt's coffee house has previously described how the increase in case rates has impacted their business as well as increasing the worry for staff and the business during this period, adding a new challenge for small businesses in the area.

"We lost one roaster but if we lost both roasters, we would be struggling.

"The Bank Street Shop is open but we're not up to full capacity. We're still running at about 65-70% of what we were two years ago. This has affected our profitability and losing staff members would have quite an impact on us. So we're having sleepless nights.

"Our team has been fantastic, we've had to bring staff to help with our wholesaling service during the pandemic, but I can't thank them enough.

The owner of the Halston Hotel and the Penny Blue restaurant Jann Besombes also explained the difficulties they have faced in terms staff shortages.

"It's actually been really, really difficult. Everything started to reopen with restrictions lifted with the business filling up with customers. In the same time, however, we had staff members who need to isolate due to being in contact with Covid cases.

"I had to isolate myself for five days with our sous chef also having to, so it was key people we were missing. So we had to close the Penny Blue restaurant for three days."

Dianne Irving, who owns three pubs in the region, including The Howard Arms, The Milbourne Arms and The Crown Inn, at Stanwix explained how the easing of the furlough scheme has impacted her business.

She expressed the belief that an upsurge in trade is likely to follow in the coming months and remains positive that the hospitality sector may now be on the long road to recovery.

"The furlough scheme hasn't come without cost obviously. So there's still obviously a cost to employers. A lot of people didn't do that but we kept our teams together. I would say that we haven't used the furlough scheme for about two or three months, since we had the chance to open back up to customers.

She added: "We've taken on new staff just to cover during this period. I think, hopefully, we're starting to see a return to something like what was a normal trade. The removal of restrictions has helped a lot and I think we will start to see some positives for the hospitality sector as trade and confidence from customers starts to rise again."

Likewise for Steve Matthews, who owns famous Carlisle bookshop Bookends alongside pre-owned store Bookcase and cafe Cakes & Ale, the future of the city's high street is now looking brighter.

He stated: Well I can only comment on the situation facing my own business but what we're finding is that customer confidence is coming back. We're happily quite busy. Basically, everyone is back working as they we're and we're very much running as we were pre-lockdown.

Mr Martin did express some concerns for the future of small businesses in the city but also called on the community to keep on supporting popular venues in the region where they can.

"It's a very, very unpredictable time.Obviously, it's only within another year or two that we're going to completely see what the full impact will be of the whole pandemic on small businesses and that is also where we will see where the high street is.

"Until then, we've got to rely on the public's support, which has been great during this period.

"I feel reasonably confident about the situation. Of course the recent situation has been pretty dismal but the new influx of people visiting Carlisle on staycations and for daytrips offers a glimpse into the future, in my opinion.

He added: "Our shop seems as lively as ever with this new influx and our cafe is looking in good shape. I'm hoping we're now getting back to normal and likewise, I would hope that other businesses are too.

"The worrying thing would be that big businesses have suffered but the high street is going to move towards being a social place, I believe. There will be a shift towards people travelling to places domestically more I hope and our businesses are well placed to benefit."