The ONS has announced that the British economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the last quarter, sparking suggestions that the economy may be coming out of its slump. It compares favourably to the mini-slump (no longer a double-dip recession) the country was in this time last year, and is the third best quarter Britain has seen since the recession.
Source: ONS
There had been indications that good news was in the offing for a while; at the beginning of the month, a string of positive economic data was released, and with no bank holidays, adverse weather, national events, or anything else to depress the figures, that seems to have held up. But “good news” is relative. The economy remains 3.3 per cent below its 2008 peak:
Source: ONS
The failure to bring the economy back to where it was pre-recession lies almost entirely on the back of the Government. A recent study estimating the effects of austerity on growth found that GDP was 3 per cent lower than it would have been if the Chancellor hadn’t attempted to slash the state. That difference works out to £3,500 for every household in the country.
The ONS breaks down the contributions to the figure:
- All four main industrial groupings within the economy (agriculture, production, construction and services) increased in Q2 2013 compared with Q1 2013.
- The largest contribution to Q2 2013 GDP growth came from services; these industries increased by 0.6% contributing 0.48 percentage points to the 0.6% increase in GDP.
- There was also an upward contribution (0.08 percentage points) from production; these industries rose by 0.6%, with manufacturing increasing by 0.4% following negative growth of 0.2% in Q1 2013.
Content from our partners
Related
