BUSINESS NEWS


Average pay growth of 7% – and just 3% for public sector workers – means ‘real wages are going down’, says Paul Johnson (inset)


Outlook ‘gloomy’ despite strong demand for travel


IFS director Paul Johnson highlights drop in disposable income. Ian Taylor reports


UK household disposable income is falling at an unprecedented rate, Britain is “falling behind” comparable economies and the impact on living standards will be “dramatic”. That is according to Paul Johnson,


director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), who told the Airport Operators Association Annual Conference in London last week: “All the forecasts are gloomy. We have a stagnating economy. The UK Office for Budget Responsibility


56 9 FEBRUARY 2023


forecasts real GDP won’t return to the level of the fourth quarter of 2019 until 2025. The Bank of England forecasts no return by 2026.” Johnson dismissed an International


Monetary Fund forecast that Britain would be the only major economy to suffer a recession this year, saying he would “take it with a pinch of salt”, insisting: “We’re not in for a deep recession, [but] the economy will stagnate. “We’re not going to catch up with competitor countries. We’re falling


further behind and that will have a dramatic impact on living standards.” He argued: “Inflation is the


priority. Food inflation and energy are responsible for half the inflation rate and it’s not just about the war in Ukraine. Inflation was already 6% when Russia invaded. Core inflation has been stuck at 6% for a year.” Johnson said: “The other worrying thing is pay, which is rising 7% a year


Continued on page 54 travelweekly.co.uk


BUSINESSNEWS


PICTURES: Shutterstock/John Gomez; Chris Daw Photography


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64