Sluggish growth figures
Apr 23 2010
“The road to recovery will be slow”
The economy grew for the first three months of this year, but at a slower than expected pace of 0.2 per cent.
Bad weather may have had an impact on output, particularly in the retail sector, said the Office for National Statistics.
Phil McCabe, spokesperson for the Forum of Private Business, says: ‘Although the economy has limped into recovery, and indeed our research indicates signs of improved orders, sales and confidence for small businesses, these latest figures show that we are not out of the woods yet.
‘Along with the recent rises in unemployment and inflation, this increase is further evidence of the many challenges that lie ahead. Whichever party wins the election, creating a tax, regulatory and financial environment in which small businesses can succeed and create jobs must be made a priority.’
John Hawksworth, head of macroeconomics at PricewaterhouseCoopers, says the figures could be revised upwards, but still expects growth to remain modest at around 1 per cent in 2010.
‘It will be a long hard climb out of recession and there are many potential dangers to be negotiated along the way. These risks include a further rise in unemployment over the next few months and the drag on medium-term economic growth from public spending cuts and tax rises from 2011 onwards,’ he says.
The figures come after disappointing news for the economy, as unemployment climbed to 2.5 million and inflation jumped to 3.4 per cent last month.