World

UK exits recession

May 16, 2024 United Kingdom

The UK has emerged from recession. Official figures show that the economy has grown by 0.6% between January and March, the fastest rate in two years

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), gross domestic product grew by 0.6% in the first three months of the year, as compared with the previous quarter. The increase follows falls of 0.3% in the fourth quarter and 0.1% in the third quarter of last year, which took the UK into a brief recession, commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

The expansion at the start of this year was driven by broad-based growth in the dominant services sector, where output rose by 0.7% in the quarter after falling at the end of last year, the ONS added.

“There is no doubt it has been a difficult few years, but today’s growth figures are proof that the economy is returning to full health for the first time since the pandemic”, said UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt. The news comes ahead of a general election later this year.

But while the economy as a whole is growing again, many people may not feel better off. After stripping out the effects of inflation - the pace of price rises - and population growth, per capita growth is still 0.7% lower than a year ago. “It could be said that UK households have seen little meaningful improvement in living standards in the last two years”, Gora Suri, economist at PwC, commented to Reuters.

Image Credits: Reinaldo Sture on Unsplash

United Kingdom Economy