January saw us mark the end of the recession – the longest economic downturn on record.
Whilst our Government will surely be patting itself on the back and thanking their lucky stars that we stayed out of depression, I and many others will have little faith in this news. We would be wise to remember that during this recession we have seen the economy reduced by over 6 percent and unemployment rise to 7.8 percent.
I do believe that this may be a temporary step forward. We have to remember that the figures used are for the last financial quarter which includes increased employment of temporary Christmas staff, increased purchases of luxury goods before the VAT rise took effect, the car scrapage scheme coming to an end and people spending slightly more in order to enjoy the festive season.
In April we may well see a step backwards as we see taxes rise as income tax and national insurance rise. As inflation rears its ugly head we may also see an increase in interest rates.
As I write I can see little is being done to stimulate the economy for growth and I do not see a sustainable economic strategy. We are unprepared to take full advantage of the small GDP figures and should not confuse the end of a recession with a start of growth.
We are a long way from seeing real evidence of our recovery and ordinary folk will see little evidence of the end of the recession in their everyday lives.
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