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NHS pay review body: twenty-sixth report 2012 - Official Documents

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Economy, Inflation, Labour Market and Earnings<br />

3.6<br />

24<br />

Our assessment below is based on the latest economic indicators available at the time of<br />

submission of this <strong>report</strong>.<br />

Economic Growth<br />

3.7<br />

3.8<br />

3.9<br />

GDP grew by 0.9% during 2011 (see Figure 3.6). This was substantially below the<br />

forecast made at the start of 2011. Recent economic forecasts saw a downgrading<br />

of growth expectations. The most recent set of forecasts from the Treasury panel<br />

of independent experts in January <strong>2012</strong>2 estimated GDP growth of 0.4% for <strong>2012</strong>,<br />

compared to a forecast of 2.1% in March 2011.<br />

This followed a substantial downgrading of growth expectations from the Office for<br />

Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) 3 in November 2011. It revised down its forecasts for GDP<br />

growth in <strong>2012</strong> to 0.7% from the 2.5% forecast in March 2011. It expected GDP to be<br />

broadly flat in the first half of <strong>2012</strong>, but to gain momentum gradually though the year<br />

assuming that the euro area found its way though the current crisis.<br />

Figure 3.6: GDP growth, 2006 to 2011 (chained volume measure at market prices)<br />

% change<br />

4<br />

2<br />

0<br />

-2<br />

-4<br />

-6<br />

-8<br />

Source: Office for National Statistics.<br />

2006Q1<br />

2006Q2<br />

2006Q3<br />

2006Q4<br />

2007Q1<br />

2007Q2<br />

2007Q3<br />

2007Q4<br />

2008Q1<br />

2008Q2<br />

Change from a year earlier<br />

2008Q3<br />

2008Q4<br />

2009Q1<br />

2009Q2<br />

2009Q3<br />

2009Q4<br />

2010Q1<br />

2010Q2<br />

2010Q3<br />

2010Q4<br />

2011Q1<br />

2011Q2<br />

2011Q3<br />

2011Q4<br />

Change from previous quarter<br />

The Bank of England also reduced its growth forecasts for <strong>2012</strong> significantly in its<br />

November 2011 inflation <strong>report</strong>, from 2.1% to 1.3%. In doing so, the Bank of England<br />

said that “the marked deterioration in the external environment, together with the<br />

domestic headwinds stemming from the fiscal consolidation and squeeze on households’<br />

real incomes, means that growth looks set to be weak in the near term. The recovery is<br />

likely to gather pace over the second and third years of the forecast as private demand<br />

picks up, supported by continuing stimulus from monetary policy and a gentle recovery<br />

in real incomes” 4 .<br />

2<br />

HM Treasury, Forecasts for the UK Economy: A Comparison of Independent Forecasts, January <strong>2012</strong>. Available at: http://<br />

www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/<strong>2012</strong>01forecomp.pdf.<br />

3<br />

Office for Budgetary Responsibility, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2011. Available at: http://cdn.<br />

budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/Autumn2011EFO_web_version138469072346.pdf.<br />

4<br />

Bank of England, Inflation Report, November 2011.

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