The UK economy shows signs of slowing as both employers and consumers turn cauti

Posted by qianjiu on July 8th, 2019

This week's corporate survey showed that overall output contracted in the second quarter, and the latest signal from British companies and consumers underscores the slowdown in the UK economy after a strong start in 2019.

In the first quarter of this year, many companies were busy preparing for the original March Brexit deadline.

The latest data shows that the subsequent economic slowdown is not just a surge in stocks.

The UK Recruitment and Employment Association (REC) said on Friday that permanent positions recruited through recruitment companies in June fell for the fourth consecutive month.

The latest data is in stark contrast to the strong recruitment activity of 2018.

“As recruitment continues to slow, the stagnation caused by Brexit continues to curb the job market,” said James Stewart, vice president of KPMG’s Retirement and Industry Strategy. KPMG and REC co-authored the report.

For temporary positions, recruitment positions increased slightly in June, setting the lowest increase since May 2013, when the UK economy began to emerge from the subsequent effects of the global financial crisis.

Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the labor market has been one of the highlights of the UK economy.

 Official data show that the unemployment rate fell to 3.8% in the first quarter of 2019, the lowest level since 1975.
Many economists have linked the employment boom to the uncertainty of Brexit. This uncertainty makes employers more inclined to hire workers (workers can be fired quickly) rather than long-term investment in equipment. committed to.

But the surge in jobs has given people more money in their pockets, driving consumer spending and offsetting the decline in many corporate investments.

Data released on Friday showed that the UK retail industry suffered a "failure" in June, as consumers reacted to the early summer discounts.

“We saw retailers advance their discounts to June, which further increased the already tight margin pressure, but they still failed to save this month’s decline,” said BDO’s retail executive at accounting and business consulting firm BDO. Sophie Michael said.

The survey is in line with another weak retail sales data released last week.

The Bank of England has said that the UK economy may grow at zero in the April-June quarter. The growth rate for the first three months of 2019 was 0.5%.

Bank of England President Carney warned on Tuesday that the prospect of a non-agreeable retreat and the rise of global protectionist trade policies led by US President Trump have brought increasing risks to the UK economy.

The British manufacturing, construction and services survey released this week suggests that the UK economy may shrink by 0.1% in the second quarter.

This will be the first quarterly decline in gross domestic product (GDP) since the end of 2012.

A survey released by an employers' organization shows that British companies have become more pessimistic, in stark contrast to the improvement in corporate confidence earlier this year.

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