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Growth across the UK economy was weaker than previously thought over the spring, according to revised official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has adjusted the gross domestic product (GDP) increase to 0.5 percent for the April to June quarter, a slight decrease from the preliminary estimate of 0.6 percent.
This growth was primarily fuelled by the services sector, while manufacturing and construction industries had a dampening effect on the overall figure, according to the ONS.
Despite this revision, the data still reflects the UK’s ongoing recovery from the recession experienced at the end of last year, albeit at a marginally reduced rate.
A technical recession is characterised by two successive quarters of negative growth. The first quarter GDP growth remained unchanged at 0.7 percent, signalling the conclusion of the brief recession.
Additionally, the ONS has now revised the GDP growth for 2023 upwards to 0.3 percent, from an initial 0.1 percent, bolstered by stronger income data such as employee wages and business profits.
Liz McKeown, the ONS’s director of economic statistics, commented on the updated figures: “Today’s updated GDP figures for 2023 and 2024 include new annual survey data, VAT returns and updated information about the relative size of each industry for the first time.”
She added: “However, after taking on these improvements, the quarterly growth path across the last 18 months is virtually unchanged.
“Our latest data show that household savings continue to increase and are now at their highest rate since the Covid-19 lockdowns.”
The household saving ratio is estimated at 10 percent in the latest quarter, up from 8.9 percent over the start of the year, meaning people were keeping more of their disposable income locked into savings.
More recent data shows that the economy has been flatlining, with no growth recorded in both June and July.
It prompted Chancellor Rachel Reeves to say she was “under no illusion about the scale of the challenge” the country faces, and that “change will not happen overnight”.
She added: “Two-quarters of positive economic growth does not make up for 14 years of stagnation.”
Jeremy Hunt MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Today’s figures once again discredit Labour’s fabricated narrative on the economy. With the Budget only one month away, she must not use it to further damage business confidence with higher regulation and higher taxes.”