The British Chambers of Commerce has predicted that Britain will enter a recession within the next year.
The BCC has published its quarterly economic forecast in which it claims Britain is heading into a “technical” recession of two or more quarters of declining output over the next six or nine months.
The BCC forecast that UK unemployment will rise by up to 300,000 over the next two or three years to nearly two million.
BCCdirector general David Frost said: “While a marked slowdown in activity is likely over the next 18 months, even if interest rates are cut when inflation peaks, the correct policy decisions are still needed to ward off the threats of a serious and prolonged recession.”