The Telegraph features a report by the National Institute of Social and Economic Research (NIESR), which predicts that the jobless rate will fall to 5.8% by the end f 2014, the lowest since the Summer of 2008, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. An expected significant increase in business investment over the next two years is likely to complement the growing number of hirings, in addition to helping rebalance the economy, as it is possible that investment will account for half the country’s growth for this year.
The increase in investment is more likely to be geared towards replacing capital and purchasing equipment rather than expansion, while businesses will become more confident about domestic growth, as well as growth in the Euro area.
The only negative aspect of this growth lies in an lack of increase in productivity levels, which is expected to remain weak until the end of 2014 and return to pre-crisis levels in mid-2017.
