FILE PHOTO: Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London, August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Twenty-nine percent of British companies reduced staff levels over the short term as the coronavirus crisis hammered the country’s economy, a survey published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed.

“The administrative and support services sector and the arts, entertainment and recreation sector reported the largest proportions of reducing staff numbers in the short-term for the period March 9 to March 22,” the ONS said.