By UK officially in recession
The UK is now officially in recession for the first time in 11 years, having suffered its biggest slump on record between April and June due to lockdown measures and the financial impact of the pandemic.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that as shops shut and household spending plunged, the economy shrank 20.4%.
This pushed the UK into its first recession, defined as a period of two straight quarters of economic decline, since 2009.
The economic decline was concentrated in April, at the height of lockdown.
The ONS have said the economy bounced back in June as government restrictions on movement began to ease, growing by 8.7%.
But despite this, the economy is now more than a fifth smaller than it was at the end of last year.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:
“Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will.
“But while there are difficult choices to be made ahead, we will get through this, and I can assure people that nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.”
With attention now turning to recovery, the Bank of England has noted that social spending such as eating out, going to a concert or watching a football match, is a major driver of economic growth in the UK.
A BBC report added that although this, alongside eased lockdown restrictions, means the economy is now growing again, the UK’s slump is also one of the biggest among advanced economies.
The fall is around twice the size of declines in Germany and the US, but is not as bad as in Spain.
With the UK now officially in recession, the Bank of England have predicted that the UK economy will not and return to pre-virus levels until at least the end of 2021.
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