Changing economy

• Between 1997 and 2007, the UK economy grew strongly and unemployment decreased. This is because the government

  • Encouraging investment in new technologies
  • Investing in university education —> more skilled workforce
• In 2008, Uk entered a recession

  • Businesses failed
  • GDP decreased
  • Unemployment increased
• during the recession, the government:

  • supported businesses so they didn’t collapse
  • decreasing taxes to encourage spending
  • borrowed money
• recession ended late 2009
• Since 2001, jobs in quaternary industries (eg tech) have increased, jobs in secondary industries (manufacturing) have decreased
• the number of people employed in primary production and tertiary industries has stayed the same
• working hours have decreased by around 4 hours a week since 2001