Estate agencies are closing branches at the rate of 150 a week, with 4,000 job losses since the start of the year. Daily Telegraph

Removal firms have also laid off hundreds of staff after a 26% fall in the number of properties changing hands over the past 12 months.

The job losses are the clearest sign yet of the impact the global credit crisis and housing market slowdown have had on the wider economy.

This led to warnings yesterday that unless banks and building societies increase lending to mortgage applicants, worse may be to come.

The number of mortgages approved for home buyers has fallen by 44% in 12 months to its lowest level since the Bank of England began collecting data 15 years ago.