UK Employment and Earnings Rising, But European Economies Continue to Falter

WALSALL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: Furnace man Paul Taylor tends the iron furnace at Kirkpatr
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Oliver JJ Lane

The economic picture for the United Kingdom continues to look positive while indications for the European Union progressively worsen, with the latest figures showing another rise in the number of people in employment, and wage rises in Britain.

While anti-Brexit politicians and the mainstream media have gone large on the economic damage deciding to leave the European Union is doing, the actual economy continues to outperform the doom-laden forecasts.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of people in work has risen by 31,000 in the last quarter. The overall unemployment rate remains unchanged at the historically low rate of 3.8 per cent.

There was good news for those already in work as well, as wages including bonuses rose at their highest level since the global financial crisis. Weekly earnings have risen four per cent in the past year.

This news follows a report by Bloomberg Monday which conceded “unexpectedly strong performance” from the UK economy, which it beleived was happening despite the country leaving the European Union. GDP rose by 0.3 per cent with growth in all quarters.

The good economic data for the United Kingdom stands in strong contrast to that across Europe, the economic bloc to which anti-Brexit politicians insist the British economy has to remain tethered or else face oblivion. Recent German industrial production figures were described by an economist cited by the Associated Press as “devastating, with no silver lining” while factory orders fall and are described as not boding well for the economy as a whole.

Bad news is mounting for Europe’s largest economy, with business confidence in a nose-dive and clear signs of a coming recession for Germany. Indeed, in 2018 the UK’s growth was the highest among Europe’s major economies while Italy flatlined and Germany shrank.

These economic outcomes stand in strong contrast to the lurid warnings made before the 2016 Brexit referendum, with modified versions of the same ‘project fear’ continuing the occupy the mainstream media discussion surrounding Britain leaving the European Union. In 2016, then chancellor George Osborne — the scaremonger in chief of the remain campaign — told the British people merely voting to leave the European Union, never mind actually going through with it, would trigger an instant recession.

The predictions of project fear have subsequently been accepted as “flawed and partisan”, although anti-Brexit politicians continue to cite alleged damage to the growing British economy as a reason to cancel Britain’s withdrawal.

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