Report: The Platinum Jubilee could shave half a point off the U.K.'s GDP

Piccadilly Circus prepares for the Platinum Jubilee

(Image credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

published 30 May 2022

It's one jubilee, Michael. What could it cost — a half percentage point off the gross domestic product?

The U.K.'s bank holiday celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne on Thursday could "tip the U.K. economy into contraction" and shave a half-point off the GDP in the second quarter, Bloomberg Economics reports based on previous holidays. The loss of a working day could also be compounded by the fact that many will take "an additional one or two days' leave to complement the long weekend," Bloomberg adds.

But others have called on making the bank holiday an annual affair. "Extra time off can help people to have clearer minds so in the bigger picture, this could have economic benefits," Silvia Dall'Angelo, a senior economist at Federated Hermes Ltd., told the publication. Besides, other European countries already have more national holidays than the U.K., which celebrates eight to 10 public holidays. The U.S., by comparison, has 11 federal holidays.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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