The British economy is in its longest recession on record, as figures out this morning showed a shock 0.4% drop in gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of the year.
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TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said he hoped today’s figures would “head off the growing signs of complacency” on an economy which remains “extremely fragile”.

“Even if we had achieved a technical recovery today, it would not feel like a recovery to the thousands losing their jobs or afraid that they will join the dole queue in the months ahead when unemployment will continue rising. It takes more than a statistical read out and the return of big bank bonuses for a real recovery,” he said.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec bank, said: “We thought there was a chance that the economy could contract, but not by this much … the numbers do come as a big shock.”

Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank in London said the figures made it more likely the Bank of England would next month extend its policy of flooding the economy with money, known as “quantitative easing”.

Source/Full Story: guardian.co.uk

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