The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned today that there are still some risks and weaknesses in the manufacturing sector and it could lead the economic recovery to remain slow. However, BCC said in its first quarter economic survey that the service sector showed improvement in the first quarter of the year.

The British Chambers of Commerce conducted the survey between February 22 and March 17, 2010 among more than 5500 businesses, between them employing in excess of 600000 people.

The BCC said that the economic growth would grow at a slower pace in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter. BCC forecasted that the economy will grow by 0.2% in the first quarter of the year compared to
0.4% in the last quarter of 2009.

BCC said that the recent weakness in economic indicators such as retail sales fuelled worries that the UK might slip back into recession in the first quarter of this year.

"Businesses are showing resilience despite difficult and uncertain trading conditions. Confidence is building, and the Government must nurture this with well-thought out policies that support business growth and job creation," said David Frost, director general of the BCC.