Sigh
Economists have been warning for a while that the recession in the UK is likely to be more protracted than in much of the rest of the world, and the latest GDP (gross domestic product) figures for the third quarter have revealed that it's not over yet.
The technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The preliminary estimate of Q3 growth from the Office of National Statistics is -0.4 percent, making this the sixth consecutive quarter of negative GDP for the UK - its longest recession in recorded history. GDP has decreased by a total of 5.2 percent in the past 12 months.
Pretty much all commentators and ‘experts' had predicted a return to growth in Q3, but only a measly 0.2 percent on average, so the more positive slant is that these figures are only 0.6 percent lower than expected and they could yet be revised upwards.
What's most worrying, however, is that most other developed countries came out of recession a quarter or two ago. The BBC spoke to the usual politicians to get their response and the Chancellor - Alistair Darling - seems to think things will sort themselves out eventually, while the opposition economy chiefs - George Osborne and Vince Cable - were quick to jump on this as further evidence of the government's mismanagement of the economy.
