18th May 2012
Is The Recession Finally Over?
8th Sep 2009
The economy grew over the summer, providing further evidence that the recession is over, new data suggests.
The housing market is just one sector of the economy to have shown an improvement. Figures from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) show there was growth of 0.2% between June and August.
That compares to a fall of 0.3% in the size of the economy in May-July.
The NIESR said the data "reinforces our view that the recession ended in May", but it stressed there was no evidence of a return to "normal economic conditions".
"There may well be a period of stagnation now, with output rising in some months and falling in others; the end of the recession should not be confused with a return to normal economic conditions," it said.
The body predicted earlier this year that the downturn ended in March.
Analysts say that the next set of quarterly output figures, for June-September, will also show a return to growth. That data will be released by the Office For National and it follows a decline of 0.7% during the second quarter.
Manufacturing figures today showed a 0.9% rise in output between June and July - the sector's best performance in more than three years.
However, retail figures were disappointing.
