, a big measure of size of the country's economy, goes into reverse. Two quarters equals six months, although the economy wouldn't have to shrink in every one of them – instead, economists are looking at the broad trend across those two periods. All recessions are different but it basically means industries aren't expanding, the jobs market it flat or shrinking and there is less money flowing back to the Treasury to pay for public services. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video How close are we to being in a recession? The Office for National Statistics (ONS), the body in charge of tracking the data, has confirmed the economy shrank between July and September. It didn't collapse and some fear it could have been worse – but the numbers don't lie and we are officially halfway to a recession. If the same pattern is repeated over the next three months up until the end of 2022, the ONS will confirm at some point in February 2023 that we are officially in a recession. What will a recession mean for jobs? The jobs market was turned on its head by the pandemic and hasn't fully got back to normal, with many people aged over 50 having opted not to return to work.){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
It’s official – the UK is on the road to a recession.
Data released this morning confirmed what experts have been warning for several months now.
While it’s not quite a done deal yet, it’s hard to find a single voice who thinks anything other than a long period of gloom is in store for the economy.
A recession is defined by economists looking at numbers on a spreadsheet but the effects are real and are felt across the country.