Recession mirroring 1980s downturn

23/06/2009

The current recession bears more resemblance to the deeper downturn of the 1980s than the shallower one of the 1990s, new figures suggest.

The latest numbers from the TUC also revealed that unemployment is growing twice as fast in some areas than others, suggesting regional divide.

In the North East the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has gone up by 2.5% compared to London where it has only risen by just over 1%.

The union group said if previous recession patterns were repeated, it could take around three years for the economy to return to pre-downturn levels.

TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “The chancellor is likely to be right when he says that this is the worst recession for 60 years. The picture for jobs and growth is already bleaker than the last recession, and is looking much more like the deep recession of the 1980s every day.

“Contrary to some commentators, there are no signs that the outlook for unemployment is starting to improve. The difference between the numbers of people losing their jobs and finding new ones is already much worse than in the Nineties recession. And even when the economy does start to grow again, unemployment will carry on increasing for a good while to come - until at least the end of next year.”