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FEARS were expressed yesterday that Guernsey has not yet hit the bottom of its economic downturn.

The Confederation of Guernsey Industry warned that the island’s economy could still get worse before it starts to recover.

And Chief Minister Lyndon Trott and Treasury minister Charles Parkinson agreed that Guernsey’s economy ‘lagged’ several quarters behind the UK’s, so could still be in downturn for months after the UK starts its revival.

This comes after two forecasts released yesterday, by the Item Club and employers’ group the CBI, predicted that the UK would begin its recovery from the recession by next spring.

Larry Granger, director of the Confederation of Guernsey Industry, agreed with the forecasts for the UK.

‘But I do not think we have yet bottomed out,’ he said. ‘However, I do think we will see improvements by the end of the year.’

The new chairman of the Institute of Directors in Guernsey agreed.

‘Clearly the UK and global economies have a significant impact on Guernsey but in the same way that the impact in Guernsey has lagged the downturn in the UK, we cannot expect the timing of any recovery to be mirrored directly here,’ said Mark Thompson.