According to the latest official figures, UK economic growth slowed between July and September as supply chain problems hampered the recovery. The National Bureau of Statistics said consumer spending increased as Britain continued to emerge from the blockade.
However, this was by a slowdown in other areas of the economy. So growth for the three months remained at 1.3%. This makes the economy 2.1% smaller than in the last three months of 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic broke out. Grant Fitzner, the chief economist at ONS, said growth in services had soared. Helped by homebuyers rushing to close deals before the holiday stamp tax ends.
“However, they were partially offset by a decline in car production and sales. “Business investment, in particular, remained significantly lower at pre-pandemic levels in the three months to September,” he said. Growth had slowed significantly from the 5.5% growth recorded between April and June when many Covid restrictions were lifted.
The ONS said the UK expanded less than initially expected in July and August, prompting them to revise growth figures for both months.
“What happened in early July and August was we had pandemia,” said Sarah Huyn. Head of Research, Europe and America, Standard Chartered. “And that ultimately keeps the economy at its level.” In contrast, the economy grew by 0.6% in September. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the latest figures show that his economic policies are working.
What is GDP, and how does it affect me?
“The economy continues to recover from Covid, and thanks to holiday rules, unemployment has fallen for eight months in a row, and we are expected to have the fastest growth in the G7 this year,” he said.