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According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), similar unemployment and gross domestic product (GDP) figures mean it is closer to the recession that occurred in the 1980s.
Figure from the body show that GDP is expected to decline by 3.8 per cent in 2009 - greater than the 2.5 per cent fall seen last decade.
And unemployment figures, which have risen by 30 per cent in the current recession, are closer to those of the 1980s - where the statistic peaked at 29 per cent - than the 22 per cent seen in the 1990s.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned that there are "no signs that the outlook for unemployment is starting to improve".
He also praised the government for the actions it has taken during the financial crisis, noting that the situation could have been "much worse".
According to data published last week by the Office for National Statistics, there are currently 2.26 million people without a job in the UK.
