2010-04-07 06:43:20
The UK's economic recovery is "still on course", according to the British
Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Its latest survey of 5,500 businesses suggests the UK's economy continued to
grow in the first quarter of the year, avoiding a "double-dip" recession.
This was largely due to the services sector, which continued to grow.
However, the BCC warned that the recovery was weak and "serious risks of a
setback remain", with the manufacturing sector still struggling.
Delicate recovery
The director general of the BCC, David Frost, told the BBC: "Any thoughts we
may have slipped back have not materialised, but the recovery needs to be
nurtured."
Manufacturing orders for the first three months of this year were little higher
than in the previous three months, the BCC survey found.
New orders continued to fall and employment in the sector suffered a setback
after an encouraging fourth quarter in 2009.
However, last week, a closely-watched survey of purchasing managers had said
that activity in the UK manufacturing sector had grown at its fastest pace for
15 years in March.
In the service sector, the BCC found that both sales and orders had risen.
The UK economy emerged from recession in the final quarter of last year, after
six consecutive quarters of contraction.
The latest official figures show the economy grew by 0.4% in the last three
months of 2009, up from the original estimate of 0.1%.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/8606499.stm
Published: 2010/04/07 07:02:01 GMT