UK Officially Out Of Recession

Figures released this morning indicate that the UK economy grew in the 4th quarter of 2009 by 0.1%. This means that the UK is formally out of recession.

We’re somewhat behind some of our European counterparts but the news is good nonetheless.

However, experts warn that these figures do not mean that all is well in the world. Retail figures are still disappointing, unemployment continues to grow and we are likely to feel the effects of the 18-month-long recession for some time to come yet.

This aside though and the news of the growth could have a positive impact on consumer confidence and investor confidence as well, which in turn can go a long way to further repairing in the economy during the first quarter of 2010.

The overall message from the experts is that it’s good news, but we have a lot of work to do yet.

What is to be hoped, however, is that the valuable lessons of this recession have been learnt and will be maintained. It would be disastrous for such lessons to be forgotten and for the UK to find itself facing a similar situation in years to come. The recession’s lessons were far reaching as a Post Office survey recently also found that we’re more financially aware, happier to talk about shopping thrifty and more conscious of our savings. Again, these lessons are some that will hopefully stick long, long, long after the official announcement of the UK’s exit from recession.