New data released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicates that the UK slipped into recession in the second half of last year.
Gross domestic product contracted by 0.3% in the three months to December last year, meaning that the UK fulfilled the technical definition of recession - two consecutive quarters of negative growth - after the economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in the three months to September.
“With all major sectors contracting, the economy suffered by more than was expected at the end of 2023,” said Mark Goodwin, Managing Director at Optimise. “The last time the UK’s economy was in recession was 2020, during the Covid pandemic.”
Liz McKeown, Director of Economic Statistics at the ONS, said: “While it has now shrunk for two consecutive quarters, across 2023 as a whole the economy has been broadly flat.
“All the man sources fell on the quarter, with manufacturing, construction and wholesale being the biggest drags on growth, partially offset by increases in hotels and rentals of vehicles and machinery.”
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