A report is predicting the loss of 144,000 jobs in London as
the economic slowdown hits the business sector.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research claims that
London’s growth could fall behind the rest of the UK for the first time since
1992.
It is predicting growth of just 1.8 per cent for London this
year, compared to 2.1 per cent for the UK as a whole.
The report blames the slowdown on the financial and business
services sector, with growth in financial services expected to fall from 6 per cent
in 2000 to 0.7 per cent in 2002.
“At this stage we still think that a slowdown is more likely
than a full blown recession. But some sectors like parts of the City, media and
tourism are already clearly having a tough time,” said Kevin McCauley, the centre’s
managing consultant.
By Karen Higginbottom
