Britain’s economy looks set for a slump that in the short term could be deeper than during the depression of the 1930s, as a survey showed the coronavirus crisis caused a record downturn among services and manufacturing firms in March.
Andrew Wishart, an economist at Capital Economics, said the hit was probably being underestimated
“We are forecasting a 15% fall in GDP in Q2, a larger fall in output than in the financial crisis or the Great Depression,” he said.
“Our base case is that the recession won’t be as protracted as either of those episodes. But evidence that unemployment is shooting up despite the government response raises the risk that the recovery takes longer than we expect.”
Source: UK facing Depression-style hit as firms slump in March, Reuters