Impact of Recession on the UK Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Impact of Recession on the UK Economy - Essay Example It was around that time when the government realized the seriousness of the issue. There are indications that things might be looking up, as we move along with the range of stimulus packages. The unemployment rate in the UK experienced a dip of 0.1 percent and it stood at 7.8 percent in January 2010. But this figure is still 1.6 percent higher than that of last year, which makes thinks worrisome for the government (HRM Guide, 2010). Official figures indicate that the average earnings in the UK have certainly bounced back in the recent past.1 Fig-1 indicates that there are indeed some recovery signals in the economy, as the earning potential of an average Briton is coming back to the comfort zone. What could be of some concern however is, the falling graph of earnings in the latter part of 2009. Monk (2009) also cites the October 2009 figures from the Office for National Statistics to highlight the higher number of borrowings in the UK. The figure stood at 11.4bn in October, far higher than the forecast figure of 7.1bn. The consistent increase of net debt as a percentage of the GDP over the last couple of years has made UK economy more of a debt economy. OCED has also issued warnings to the effect that the UK needs to put in place its fiscal measures to unburden itself from the pile of debt. It was predicted by some analysts in 2008 when the initial signals of the recession started emerging that during the coming two years UK economy would be experiencing its weakest patch of the last 15 years (BBC, 2008). Well, if trace the journey of the recession, these concerns seem to have come true. Taking a historical perspective UK had a population of 38 million with GDP of just under 125 billion at constant 1995 market prices. By the end of the century, the population stood at 59 million with an increase of more than 50 percent while the GDP stood at 800 billion, registering a fivefold increase (Lindsay, 2003). The benefits of globalization seem to have percolated down to all sections of the society in good measure.