News, News, News – the recession!

You can’t avoid the most recent news that we are ‘out of recession’, but what are your thoughts in the sectors you work in? Are you feeling a positive move out of the slump? A few headlines have caught my eye ……

The Guardian’s headline, which I love, read “UK economy: out of intensive care but still confined to bed”. Having had a hubby in intensive care several years ago I am well aware of the long & painful road to recovery!

Reuters headline was “Britain crawls out of recession”. Matt Falloon from Reuters wrote “The Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday gross domestic product rose by 0.1 percent between October and December, well below analysts' forecasts for growth of 0.4 percent and lower than all the predictions in a Reuters poll. For 2009 as a whole, the economy shrank by 4.8 percent -- the worst yearly performance since records began in 1949. The Labour government has been banking on a strong bounce back to growth to help overturn its poor opinion poll ratings before an election expected in 100 days, but these weaker than expected figures make a political comeback even trickier.”

The Telegraph’s most recent article regarding the recession was headed “Bumpy road ahead as Britain limps out of recession”. It then went on to say “Although Britain’s 18-month recession has now technically ended, the lacklustre recovery alarmed financial experts amid fears of a further slump and prompted a political storm. The weak economic figures undermined Government assurances that the economy would bounce back strongly from the worst recession since records began in 1948 and raised questions over the plans drawn up by both of the main political parties ahead of the imminent general election.
British families, meanwhile, were warned that interest rates are now unlikely to rise in the coming months, which means their savings will suffer. The value of the pound also fell which will make holidays abroad more costly. The weak recovery also threatens to derail the improving housing market – and the recent fall in unemployment - as companies become concerned about the country’s economic prospects.”

Personally I haven't yet seen an upturn in the recruitment business as a result of the return to growth. This is no major surprise as employment usually takes longer to recover than other economic indicators. It is good news we are out of recession and lets hope the growth rates sprint ahead in the next couple of months.