List of recessions in the United Kingdom

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This is a list of recessions (and depressions) that have affected the economy of the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. In the United Kingdom and all other[clarification needed] EU member states, a recession is generally defined as two successive quarters of negative economic growth, as measured by the seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter figures for real GDP.[1][2]

Name  | Dates  | Duration  | Real GDP reduction  | Causes  | Other data

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|
|
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Great Slump | c. 1430 – c. 1490 | c. 60 years |  |  |
War of the Spanish Succession  | 1706  |  | −15%[3] | War of the Spanish Succession compounded by failure of harvest  |
The Great Frost  | 1709  | 3 months[4] | −14%[3] | Failure of harvest caused by the Great Frost  |
Crisis of 1772 | 1772  |  |  | Great Bengal famine of 1770  |
Post-Napoleonic depression | 1812–1821 | c. 9 years[5] |  | Post-Napoleonic Wars readjustment |
1857–58 recession | 1857–58 | c. 1 year[6][7] | c. 1%[8] | Panic of 1857 (originating in America) as the first global economic crisis, confidence eroded by Palmerston government relaxing the provisions of the Bank Charter Act 1844 | Comparatively brief contraction of approximately 3.5%[6] nominal GDP?
1867–1869 recession | 1867–1869 | c. 2 years[6][7] | c. 1%[9] | Impact on exports resulting from American recession post-American Civil War | 1.9%[6] fall in GDP
Long Depression | 1873–1896 | Periodic falls in real GDP over c. 20 years | Deflation but a large rise real GDP | Panic of 1873 | Previously known as the "Great Depression". Real GDP rose over this period. Agricultural deflation hit farmers and their workers, although industrial output continued to grow.
1919–1926 depression | 1919–1921 | c. 3 years |

* 1919 −10.9%
* 1920 – 6.0%
* 1921 – 8.1%[10]
* 9.5%[11]

| The end of World War I | Deflation c. 10% in 1921, and c. 14% in 1922.[12]
Great Depression | 1930–31 | c. 2 years |

* 1930: −0.7%
* 1931: −5.1%[10]

| US Depression. Reducing demand for UK exports, also high interest rate defending the gold standard. | UK came off gold standard September 1931. 3–5% deflation pa. UK much less affected than US. Took 16 quarters for GDP to recover to that at start of recession[13] after a 'double dip'.
1956 recession | 1956 Q2
1956 Q3 | 0.5 years
(2 Qtrs)[14] |

* 1956 Q2: −0.2%
* 1956 Q3: −0.1%

| Uncompetitive motor industry,[15] inflationary pressures, credit squeeze caused by high bank rate, effects of the Suez crisis – oil embargo by NATO and other Arab countries.[16] | Average inflation in 1956 totalled 4.9%.[citation needed] Interest rate held at 5.5%, an increase of 1.0% on the previous year.[citation needed]
1961 recession |

* 1961 Q3
* 1961 Q4

| 0.5 years
(2 Qtrs)[14] |

* 1961 Q3: −0.5%
* 1961 Q4: −0.2%

| Time lag from the 'Rolling Adjustment' recession in America[17] and high bank rate. | Interest rates were hiked from 5.0% to 7.0% in July 1961, reducing to 6.5% in October 1961 and then to 6.0% from November 1961 onwards.[citation needed]
Mid-1970s recessions |

* 1973 Q3
* 1973 Q4
* 1974 Q1

| 0.75 years
(3 Qtrs)[14] |

* 1973 Q3: −1.0%
* 1973 Q4: −0.4%
* 1974 Q1: −2.7%

| 1973 oil crisis, stagflation, the decline of traditional British industries, inefficient production, high inflation caused industrial disputes over pay. | The economy surpassed its pre-recession peak by 1976 Q4, fourteen quarters after its beginning.[12][13] There were two single-quarterly setbacks during the recovery (aside from the double-dip) in 1974 Q4 and 1976 Q2. Average inflation was 9.2% in 1973, 16.0% in 1974, 24.2% in 1975 and 16.5% in 1976.[citation needed] Interest rates fluctuated wildly during the recession with a low of 9.0% in March 1976 and a high of 15.0% in October 1976.

* 1975 Q2
* 1975 Q3

| 0.5 years
(2 Qtrs)[14] |

* 1975 Q2: −1.7%
* 1975 Q3: −0.3%

Early 1980s recession |

* 1980 Q1
* 1980 Q2
* 1980 Q3
* 1980 Q4
* 1981 Q1

| 1.25 years
(5 Qtr)[14] |

* 1980 Q1: −1.7%
* 1980 Q2: −2.0%
* 1980 Q3: −0.2%
* 1980 Q4: −1.0%
* 1981 Q1: −0.3%

| Deflationary government policies including spending cuts, pursuance of monetarism to reduce inflation, switch from a manufacturing economy to a services economy. | Company earnings decline 35%. Unemployment rises from 5.3% of the working population in August 1979 to 11.9% in 1984.[18] Took thirteen quarters for GDP to recover to its pre-recession peak at the end of 1979.[12] Annual inflation was 18.0% in 1980, 11.9% in 1981, 8.6% in 1982 and 4.6% in 1983.[citation needed] Interest rates generally declined during the recession from a peak of 17.0% at the beginning of 1980 to a low of 9.6% in October 1982.[citation needed]
Early 1990s recession |

* 1990 Q3
* 1990 Q4
* 1991 Q1
* 1991 Q2
* 1991 Q3

| 1.25 years
(5 Qtrs)[14] |

* 1990 Q3: −1.1%
* 1990 Q4: −0.4%
* 1991 Q1: −0.3%
* 1991 Q2: −0.2%
* 1991 Q3: −0.3%

| US savings and loan crisis, high bank rate in response to rising inflation caused by the Lawson Boom and to maintain British membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. | Company earnings decline 25%. Peak budget deficit c. 8% of GDP. Unemployment rises from 6.9% of the working population in 1990 to 10.7% in 1993.[18] Took eleven quarters for GDP to recover to its pre-recession peak in the Spring of 1990.[12] Annual inflation was 9.5% in 1990, 5.9% in 1991, 3.7% in 1992. and 1.6% in 1993.[citation needed] Interest rates were stubbornly high initially but declined from a high of 14.8% at the start of the recession to a low of 5.9% by the end of the recession,[citation needed] though interest rates were hiked twice during Black Wednesday.
Great Recession |

* 2008 Q2
* 2008 Q3
* 2008 Q4
* 2009 Q1
* 2009 Q2

| 1.25 years
(5 Qtrs) |

* 2008 Q2: −0.2%
* 2008 Q3: −1.7%
* 2008 Q4: −2.2%
* 2009 Q1: −1.8%
* 2009 Q2: −0.3%

| Late 2000s financial crisis, rising global commodity prices, subprime mortgage crisis infiltrating the British banking sector, significant credit crunch. | The recession lasted for five quarters and was the deepest UK recession since the Second World War.[14] Manufacturing output declined 7% by end 2008. It affected many sectors including banks and investment firms, with many well known and established businesses having to fold.[19] The unemployment rate rose to 8.3% (2.68m people) in August 2011, the highest level since 1994. There was much speculation of a 'double dip' recession during the 2010s, but this proved not to be the case. However, the 2010s saw four separate periods of quarter-on-quarter fall in growth: 2010 Q4 (−0.4); 2011 Q4 (−0.1); 2012 Q2 (−0.5); and 2012 Q4 (−0.2).[20]
COVID-19 recession |

* 2020 Q1
* 2020 Q2

| 0.5 years
(2 Qtrs) |

* 2020 Q1: −2.6%
* 2020 Q2: −18.8%

| COVID-19 pandemic | Majority of the decrease in GDP occurred in March and April of 2020 and was followed by a sharp increase in June and July although GDP did not return to pre-pandemic levels until late 2021. The drop, while brief, was the deepest recession since 1709.[21] The event triggered an inflationary shock and a wider cost of living crisis.[22]

## See also

* List of recessions in Canada
* List of recessions in the United States
* List of stock market crashes and bear markets
* Office for National Statistics

## References

1. ↑ "Q&A: What is a recession?". BBC News. 8 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7495340.stm.
2. ↑ "Glossary of Treasury terms". HM Treasury. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/junebudget_glossary.htm.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Inman, Phillip (7 May 2020). "War and the weather: what caused the huge economic slump of 1706?" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/may/07/what-caused-the-economic-slump-of-1706-.
4. ↑ "What happened in 1709? Why the UK economy slumped into a recession" (in en). 15 April 2020. https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/1709-what-happened-uk-economy-recession-slump-coronavirus-lockdown-forecast-2539553.
5. ↑ "Public Spending Chart for United Kingdom 1800–1830 – Central Government Local Authorities". ukpublicspending.co.uk. http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/spending_chart_1800_1830UKb_12c1li011mcn_.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Public Spending Chart for United Kingdom 1800–1900 – Central Government Local Authorities". ukpublicspending.co.uk. http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/spending_chart_1800_1900UKb_12c1li011mcn_.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cain, P. J.; Hopkins, A. G. (2002). British Imperialism, 1688–2000. Longman. ISBN 9780582472860. https://books.google.com/books?id=XCJaq77qIRIC. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
8. ↑ "Public Spending Chart for United Kingdom 1856–1859 – Central Government Local Authorities". ukpublicspending.co.uk. http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/spending_chart_1856_1859UKk_12c1li011mcn_.
9. ↑ "Public Spending Chart for United Kingdom 1865–1868 – Central Government Local Authorities". ukpublicspending.co.uk. http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/spending_chart_1865_1868UKk_12c1li011mcn_.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 D Smith, Sunday Times (UK) 9 November 2008
11. ↑ "NIESR graph of 6 UK recessions". http://www.niesr.ac.uk/pdf/120313_135535.pdf.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Bank of England February 2009 Quarterly inflation report". Bank of England. http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/inflationreport/ir09feb.pdf.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Economy tracker: GDP". BBC News. 27 January 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7789844.stm.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 "Quarterly National Accounts – National accounts aggregates (ABMI Gross Domestic Product: chained volume measures: Seasonally adjusted £m, constant prices)". Office for National Statistics. 20 December 2013. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/datasets-and-tables/data-selector.html?cdid=ABMI&dataset=qna&table-id=A2.
15. ↑ "Economic policy and the motor recession". The Spectator. 12 July 1956. http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/13th-july-1956/28/economic-policy-and-the-motor-recession. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
16. ↑ Love 1969, p. 651
17. ↑ "A Review Of Past Recessions | Investopedia". investopedia.com. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/past-recessions.asp.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "UK unemployment". Financial Tubes, 20 November 2008
19. ↑ "CBI February 2009 Economic forecast". Confederation of British Industry. http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/Press.nsf/0363c1f07c6ca12a8025671c00381cc7/5375de87ac8febe98025755c0055e28c/$FILE/CBI Forecast -Feb 09 - Summary&Tables.pdf;.
20. ↑ "UK GDP since 1955 | Business Rogers". The Guardian. 9 March 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/nov/25/gdp-uk-1948-growth-economy.
21. ↑ Partington, Richard (12 February 2021). "UK economy hit by record slump in 2020 but double-dip recession avoided". https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/12/uk-avoided-double-dip-recession-despite-covid-slump-in-2020-ons-gdp.
22. ↑ "The inflationary consequences of real shocks". https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/speech/2022/october/the-inflationary-consequences-of-real-shocksspeech-by-ben-broadbent.

## External links

* Office for National Statistics website
* ONS quarterly GDP growth
* UK National Income, Expenditure and Output
* Latest Bank of England inflation report (PDF sections)
* Bank of England February 2009 Quarterly inflation report  – Much data, including (on p20) previous 3 UK recessions.
* "What is the difference between a recession and a depression?" Saul Eslake November 2008
* UK economy tracker BBC News – comparison of UK recessions – updated quarterly

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