recovery

recovery

• despite the limitation of government schemes in the 1930s,britains economy did begin to recover from the worse of the depression

• this recovery was limited and was more obvious in the midlands and the south-east more than the old industrial areas of the north and west

• total unemployment fell by half between 1933 and 1939 and average economic growth in the 1930s were higher than the 1920s

new industries

• new industries such as motor vehicles ,chemicals and aircraft enjoyed healthy growth

• output of motor cars doubled between 1929 and 1939 making britain the second largest car manufacturer in the world

• even the stple industries began to recover , although it was slow and limited

• nevertheless, coal prodution was 227,000 tonnes in 1938, almost what it had been in 1928

• by 1938, production in the steel industry had risen above 1928 level

A better living situation

• there were always more people in work than out of work and this, together with lower prices, and cheaper borrowing created a rise in consumer demand in areas such as house building

• this led to an increase in general consumption

• rising consumer demands led to an expansion of the home markets and this helped offset cuts in government spending

• the consumption of electricity doubled in the 1930s and the demand for consumer durables such as radios and cars grew

• the home market also encouraged the growth of jobs in service industries such as retailing, transport and banking

success of new industries

• the new industries were less affected than the old industries by the depression and these industries continued to grow

• the use of electricity quadrupled between 1925 and 1929

• numbers employed in the new industries rose , but not enough to absorb all the workers shed by declining staples

comeback of rearmaments

• ironically, it was the spending on rearmamanets from 1926 onwards that assisted economic recovery

• it was not the natural choice of the national government ,but it was imposed upon them through fear of war with nazi germany

• rearmament succeded in directly stimulating both old staple industries like shipbuilding and steel , as well as new industries such as aircraft and chemicals and breathed new life into some of the most depressed areas in britain

• it was the gradual world recovery and the spur of war that helped cure the worst of britains economic troubles