Public holiday on Queen Elizabeth II's funeral most likely to pull UK's GDP down, Here’s how

The revival process of the economy of the United Kingdom can receive another hit from the public holidays that are marked for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II the next week.

The British economy, which is facing the threat of a recession, had rebounded in July, as suggested by recent official data on September 12. According to the Office for National Statistics, the gross domestic product of the United Kingdom expanded 0.2 per cent in July after witnessing a fall of 0.6 per cent the previous month.

Notably, the decline in the figures for June was partly attributed to an extra public holiday marked to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the British throne. And another public holiday has been marked for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. The United Kingdom generally has just one public holiday in early summer, but the number had doubled this year owing to the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Queen's reign. Time off work for Britain's working professionals next Monday implies that the economy would have two more public holidays in 2022.




Chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, Samuel Tombs, stated that the extra public holiday on September 19 for the Queen's funeral can be more damaging for the British economy than the one marked in June for the Jubilee. According to Pantheon, the country's GDP for September can go down by 0.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Chief Economist at KPMG UK, Yael Selfin, stated that July GDP figures are concerning because they are below the level recorded in May. It points to an overall contraction over the first two months of the summer season. Besides, the Bank of England (BoE) has predicted that the British economy may fall into recession before the end of 2022, as the country is grappling with decades-high inflation, which is fuelled by soaring food and energy bills.

FAQs:

1). When is the public holiday for the Queen's funeral marked?
There will be a public holiday in the UK on September 19 for the Queen's funeral.
2). When can the British economy enter recession?
The Bank of England has predicted that the British economy can enter a recession before the end of 2022.