Recovery of economy being affected by two major factors

Industry officials have recently stated that the recovery of the economy in the UK is being seriously hampered by two major issues, which have been highlighted as rising unemployment levels and the rising number of swine flu cases.

Officials have said that although there has been an increase in lending and retail spending has been gaining strength any serious attempts at recovery are being affected by rising concerns over job losses and the ongoing spread of the swine flu virus.

One economist said that whilst there had been a marked increase in consumer confidence recently he was unsure as to how long this would last given the panic that job losses and the flu virus were striking into the hearts of consumers.

He said: ‘Consumer confidence has been trending upwards. ‘But I wonder if this will continue, given the dire state of the employment market and the publicity given to swine flu.’

With figures due to be released with regards to consumers confidence levels and lending levels there were mixed reactions from industry experts.

One official from Deutsche Bank stated: ‘The important thing in all these figures is the detailed breakdown. If there is growth in lending to households and to nonfinancial companies, that will be seen as a good sign. We want to see the new money going into the hands of those most likely to spend it.’

In a separate report there was good news for the High Street, as figures for June showed that there had been a bounce in High Street sales in a number of sectors.

However, officials are unsure as to whether this success can be sustained given the factors that are currently standing in the way of the economy.

Tags: whilst, publicity, new money, industry officials, recession, economic recovery, state, breakdown