A leading business group has warned that the UK economic recovery will be slower than expected.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) also said it considers a 'double-dip' recession to be a real risk, with "economic prospects remaining uncertain".
According to a report by the group, economic growth will average out below 2 per cent for the next four or five years. The United States economy is currently growing at an annualised rate of around 5.9 per cent, and in the five years before the recent crash the UK economy grew at an average of 2.7 per cent.
The BBC has urged the government to continue its efforts to combat the downturn, insisting that further contraction is a greater risk in the short-term than higher inflation. There has been concern that measures like quantitative easing would create hyper-inflation, but this has not yet materialised.
Many analysts have predicted a double-dip recession from the outset. Such an outcome could be potentially disastrous for the small business sector, which would likely bear the brunt of any second contraction.
