Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, came to power in 1979 and oversaw significant economic, demographic, and cultural changes in Britain. Unemployment shot up under her government, reaching levels not seen since the Great Depression, though it lagged behind economic recoveries. Britain experienced two major recessions under Thatcher that sandwiched an economic boom in the 1980s, though annual GDP growth never exceeded 2.2%. Inflation, which had reached the twenties in the 1970s, decreased under the Conservatives but remained a challenge. Manufacturing employment, which had already been declining, continued decreasing slightly during Thatcher's time in office.