Momentum driven by consumers and business should result in continued growth for the UK economy, according to David Roust, head of recruitment industry team at Barclays Corporate.

Roust says: “Sufficient momentum in business and consumer demand should ensure that the UK economy keeps growing, with Barclays economists expecting GDP growth of 1.6% in 2010, 2.1% in 2011 and 2.2% in 2012.

“While this creates a stable environment for UK businesses, these are still subdued growth rates by historical standards, and this will continue to impact negatively on unemployment figures.

“In terms of general demand, a strengthening in household consumption, net trade and investment should offset some of the fall in public sector demand. Business investment certainly has the potential to grow in 2011, as non-financial firms in the UK have been running substantial cash surpluses in recent quarters.

“Globally our economics team expects growth to slow moderately, to about 4.25% in 2011 from 4.9% in 2010, with the slowdown mainly the result of softening emerging world growth, particularly Asia and Latin America. Indeed, emerging market countries are set to move towards more sustainable growth after the strong rebound following the crisis.”