Dorset Chamber is demanding swift and immediate government action after new figures show economic activity at a record low.
The comments come after the latest results in the British Chamber of Commerce’s (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for the second quarter of 2020, April to June. This is the largest independent survey of business sentiment and a leading indicator of UK GDP growth. The results showed:
- Eleven of 14 service sector indicators falling to their lowest level in the survey’s 31 year history
- Firms reporting increased sales substantially lower than the worst quarter of the 2008-2009 recession
- Indicators for longer term business performance plunge to record low
Dorset Chamber chief executive Ian Girling said: “These findings make grim reading. They lay bare the full impact of the catastrophic economic storm that we have weathered so far but it is likely that a truer picture of the impact will only emerge once the furlough scheme ends. It is vital that the Chancellor takes swift, substantial and immediate action in his economic statement or any hopes of some kind of bounce back recovery will be dashed.”
He added that businesses from around the country need to see a clear and bold roadmap forward to recovery from the government.
“The UK cannot meander its way back to recovery. The government has one chance to jumpstart the economy and business confidence over the coming weeks, and it must take it,” he said.
Full details of: the BCC Quarterly Economic Survey.