Recession is deeper than thought

It was known that the country had hit a double- dip recession, but the economy shrank more than initially thought, according to revised data from the Office for National Statistics.

UK gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2012, revised from a previously estimated decrease of 0.2%.

The output of the production industries fell by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2012 on the previous quarter against a 1.3% fall in the final quarter of 2011.

Manufacturing output was flat in the first quarter of 2012. This compares with a decrease of 0.7% in the previous quarter.

However, the big hit was in construction where output decreased by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2012 against a decrease of 0.2% in the final quarter of last year.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The government is taking our economy in completely the wrong direction.

“Despite ministers’ efforts to blame Europe for everything the truth is many of our problems are home grown, with consumer spending and construction both struggling under the weight of the government’s austerity programme.

“The government needs to face facts and focus on investment in infrastructure and jobs, rather than continue with self-defeating cuts that are holding back businesses, lowering living standards and failing to deal with the deficit.”

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_264972.pdf

www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21063-f0.cfm