13/05/2020
Responding to this mornings ONS figures showing GDP fell by 2.0% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020, signalling the first direct impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy, Make UK Chief Economist, Seamus Nevin said:
“Today’s data is unprecedented overall but does some anomalies in that although manufacturing shrank overall, there were some industries that grew including pharmaceuticals and cleaning products manufacturers - a demonstration of how important the manufacturing sector has been to the national effort to tackle the virus.
“The pandemic also hit trade globally, with UK imports and exports falling over the last couple of months, in a reminder that this is a worldwide epidemic that will require international cooperation to start the recovery. While the scale of the decline in the first quarter is a big worry, and we may not yet have reached the bottom, businesses are working with Government as never before to protect jobs and livelihoods and will continue to do so to ensure our economy can recover as quickly as possible”