The UK economy grew by 2.1% month on month in August, the lowest since May this year, according to a report released by the British Bureau of statistics on the 9th. At the same time, the outbreak of the new crown in the United Kingdom has rebounded seriously, and the government may announce more stringent epidemic prevention and control measures recently, aggravating the market's worries about the economic prospects.
"Monthly GDP grew by 2.1% in August 2020, but was 9.2% lower than the level in February 2020 (before the outbreak in the UK)," the BSS report said
Affected by the nationwide "closure", Britain's GDP shrank by about 20% in the second quarter of this year, the worst performance since records began in 1955. With the gradual "unsealing", the British economy achieved growth in May and grew for four consecutive months up to August. Previously, the economy was expected to grow by more than 4% in August.
More than 50% of the economic growth in August was contributed by the catering and accommodation industry. In the same month, more Britons choose to spend their holidays at home; the British government has launched a meal deduction scheme, which allows customers to enjoy 50% of the consumption amount of food and non-alcoholic drinks from Monday to Wednesday, with a maximum of 10 pounds per person.
However, since the summer vacation, the epidemic has rebounded rapidly in the UK. The UK reported 17540 new confirmed cases on August 8, nearly doubling the number of hospitalized patients a week ago, with 609 more hospitalized. Among them, the rebound in England is the most serious.
The government is expected to introduce stricter epidemic control measures in recent days, especially for Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle and other major cities in northern England.
Scotland tightened its epidemic prevention on the 9th, and Glasgow and Edinburgh, two major cities, demanded that bars be closed for 16 days.
British business, politics and trade unions are calling on the government to come up with countermeasures to help enterprises tide over the business suspension.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said: "the chancellor of the exchequer will later release the next phase of the work support plan to provide a safety net for enterprises that may close down in the next few weeks or months."
British Chancellor of the exchequer rich sunak issued a statement on the 9th: "today's data show that the economy has been growing for four consecutive months. But I know that many people are worried about the coming winter. " He said that since the outbreak, he has been most concerned about employment, "to keep as many jobs as possible and to provide support to people in search of other opportunities, which has not changed.".
In order to stabilize employment, at the beginning of the outbreak, the British government implemented the "work retention plan", paying millions of employees 80% of their wages, up to 2500 pounds a month. The plan, originally scheduled to last until the end of July, is now extended to the end of October.
The opposition Labor Party accused the government of losing control of epidemic prevention and harming enterprises. Labour leader Kiel stammer wrote in the Daily Telegraph: "under the epidemic situation, businesses that help our country and our economy will face an uncertain weekend. We don't know whether they can continue to operate."