Britain's economy is still in a worse state than it was six years ago, despite the coalition government trumpeting of “growth.”

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released yesterday showed a slight improvement in economic performance.

But unions argued that whatever growth there really is, it is of little benefit to the masses still struggling under the burden of cuts, falling wages and unemployment.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady accused the government of “choking off recovery through cuts, austerity and wage freezes.”

“The worst possible conclusion from today is to believe that the recovery is now strong enough to survive higher interest rates,” she said.

Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, said that while “onwards and upwards” would be the response from politicians and commentators, “back in the real world people know that while the recovery underway is welcome we have a very long way to go to climb out of the hole caused by the recession.”

He said average earnings were down 13.8 per cent in real terms since 2007.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “These latest GDP figures show that after four years of austerity the economy has still has not returned to pre-recession 2008 levels.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary of pubic service union Unison, said: ”The latest GDP growth forecast shows the economy is extremely fragile and still not recovering fast enough.

“This is a result of the government’s austerity agenda which combined with cuts and pay freezes have put a strain on the economy and on family finances.”