Some 86,000 jobs have been lost in the United Kingdom's nightlife sector since 2019, an industry body has said, blaming coronavirus closures.

The Night Time Industries Association said the sector accounted for 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2019, the equivalent of 36.4 billion, and employed 425,000, reports AFP.

But it said there were “fears that many of the jobs lost to the pandemic in the night-time economy sector will be lost for good” because of closures and lower demand.

Nightclubs and casinos were among the last to reopen when coronavirus restrictions began to be eased in June.