Economy could slide into recession in three months say bosses

Bosses of small and medium sized businesses in the UK have said that the economy is at risk of sliding into recession within the next three months.

A survey was carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce, which surveyed around five thousand of its members. Businesses in the manufacturing and service industries have been hard hit over recent months.

In fact, according to figures sales and orders for manufacturing and service industry firms over the past three months have been drying up, and for the first time since 1990 more firms within the service industry reported a drop in sales and orders than those reporting an increase in sales and orders.

An official from the BCC said: ‘We are now facing serious risks of recession,’ he said. ‘The outlook is grim and we believe that the correction period is likely to be longer and nastier than expected.’

Another official from the BCC said: ‘I am sending Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown a strong message from the businesses I meet every day up and down the country. To put more pressure on business would not only restrict business growth and hit the consumer hard, it would crush further what our economy is based on - confidence.’