200bn positive reasons

21 December 2022

£200bn is a colossal amount of money. To put it in some kind of perspective, the government’s furlough scheme cost an estimated £70bn and the UK defence budget for 2024-25 is forecast to be £48.6bn. 

The reason why £200bn is particularly significant is that it is the estimated total of savings that people amassed during the pandemic when they were locked down, furloughed or otherwise unable to spend, and which is still lying idle. 

Now much of that sum will doubtless go towards rising energy and food costs, mortgage increases and meeting higher loan repayments. But it is one of the factors that some economic commentators cite to suggest that any long-term recession could be relatively shallow. 

Another factor quoted is the high level of employment. Indeed, unemployment fell recently to a 48-year low and many companies are finding it difficult to find staff – as reported earlier. Paradoxically, then, recruitment challenges could contribute to a downturn – normally in difficult times, it’s the other way round. 

For individuals in work and businesses that have controlled their costs, it will be easier to navigate economic challenges.

And that’s hugely positive for the tool hire industry because it suggests that spending will continue. It might be at a reduced level but there is plenty of work that needs to be done, from building houses and maintaining warehouses, to installing broadband and repairing roads. And that’s not to mention the long-awaited ‘green revolution’. 

And some of that £200bn might go towards upgrading home offices, building extensions and making improvements to the spaces in which people find themselves living and working as more hybrid arrangements become the norm. 

As reported many times on the blog, a lot of hirers and suppliers are flat out busy, so there are definitely reasons for optimism despite the current challenges.