Ernst & Young raised its UK economy growth forecast for 2021 from 5% to 6.8%, which is the fastest rate of growth since the official records began. UK GDP contracted by a record 9.9% last year, as the restrictions of the Coronavirus affected production.
EY expects the British economy to return to the size it was before the outbreak of the epidemic in the second quarter of 2022, that is, three months earlier than previously expected, and economists have revised their expectations for unemployment to decline and is expected to reach 5.8% by the end of this year, down from the 7% forecast in January.
Figures released today also from Deloitte indicate that the UK may be on the right track for a faster than previously expected economic recovery. Consumer confidence increased at the fastest rate in a decade in the first three months of 2021, according to a survey of 3,000 people between March 19 and 22. Confidence increased by 6 percentage points to -11%.
