14
Jan
UK economy 'returns to growth', think tank NIESR says
The UK economy grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009, a
leading economic think tank has said.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR)
predicts that the economy returned to growth, bringing an end to
the recession.
NIESR's estimates come ahead of the official gross domestic
product (GDP) figures for the fourth quarter, which will be
released on 26 January.
The UK economy has contracted for six consecutive quarters.
That means the current recession is the longest since records
began in 1955.
Broader picture
NIESR said the pace of growth appears to be increasing. It
estimates that there was a 0.2% increase in GDP in the three months
ending in November.
According to NIESR's data, GDP fell by 4.8% in 2009.
"This is a bigger fall than in any year of the Great Depression
and is Britain's biggest contraction since 1921.
"The broader picture of the depression is that output fell
sharply for twelve months until March and has not changed very much
since then, although evidence of a recovery is starting to
emerge."
source: www.bbc.co.uk/news Wednesday 13th
January 2010