Member Article

Economy to grow 0.7% in North West

The North West’s economy is set to grow by 0.7%, according to Pricewaterhouse Cooper’s (PwC) economic outlook report, published on Monday.

PwC’s study said that by 2014, the region’s economy will improve by 1.6%, while it claimed a 1.2% increase in total North West employment over the past three years.

Youth unemployment fell by 2.4% in the North West, while across the country the total employment rate grew by around 3%.

In reference to the national situation, PwC’s report said: “The UK economy grew by an estimated 0.3% in Q1 2013, thus avoiding a technical recession.

“Although still significantly below pre-crisis growth rates, there are signs from recent business surveys that a gradual recovery is underway, led by private services sectors.

“We project growth for the UK as a whole to be around 1% in 2013, picking up gradually to around 2% in 2014 in our main scenario; this compares to average growth of just 0.2% in 2012.

“In summary, the economic environment remains challenging and the UK recovery is likely to remain relatively slow and bumpy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .