London to suffer during recession
A study by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that the south of England will be the worst hit during the recession.
In its report, ‘From Recession To Recovery: The Local Dimension’, the LGA said cities in the north will weather the storm better because decades of cost-cutting and redundancies have made businesses there leaner and more efficient.
According to the LGA, which represents councils in England, nearly two in five jobs that could be at risk over the next two years are in London and the affluent South East.
The report found that the construction and manufacturing industries will be worst hit by the economic downturn, while highly skilled industries look best-placed to weather the downturn.
Councillor Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, explains that the recession was going to affect different parts of the country in very different ways.
Ms Eaton comments that the report shows that the fastest way to get out of recession is for more decisions about the economy to be taken at the local level, which means councils continuing to work with local people and businesses.
With greater freedoms over transport, infrastructure, planning, economic development and skills, councils would be able to do even more for local people, adds Ms Eaton.
In related news, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) believes that the UK’s recession will be tougher and longer than previously estimated.
Furthermore, the CBI is forecasting that unemployment will rise to nearly 3 million next year, from 1.8 million currently. The organisation said that unemployment will reach 2 million before the end of 2008.
Visited 4449 times, 1 so far today
Comments (0)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
There are no comments yet. Why not be the first to speak your mind.