Official government figures have confirmed today that the UK is in a recession.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product fell by 1.5% in the last three months of 2008, with a 4.6% contraction in manufacturing.
Chancellor Alistair Darling commented that many challenges will be faced by families in the coming months.
Separate ONS figures show that the volume of retail sales jumped in December but the value of sales fell 0.8%.
Director general of the British Retail Consortium Stephen Robertson said: “A triple whammy of dramatically declining sales, margin-crushing discounts and rising costs hit non-food retailers hardest overwhelming some businesses and destroying retail jobs.
“Food sales were more resilient – we all have to eat.
“With customers already budgeting defensively as job fears mount, confirmation of recession can’t weaken confidence much more.”
A large drop was witnessed on the BRC’s sales monitor published last week.
