The UK’s gross domestic product grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics.
The positive data came after a 0.3% decline in the fourth quarter and a 0.1% decline in the third quarter, meaning that the country has thus emerged from what is called a technical recession.
Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, expectations indicate that UK GDP will grow by 0.2% in the first three months of the year.
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Growth in the fourth quarter was driven by a 0.7% increase in services output. Early estimates suggest that 13 of the 20 subsectors grew in the first quarter, compared with 6 subsectors that increased in the previous quarter.
The manufacturing sector is estimated to have grown by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, following a 1.1% decline in the fourth quarter of 2023. This reflects a 0.5% decline in January 2024, followed by growth of 1.0% and 0.2% in February and March, respectively.
The construction sector fell by 0.9% in the first quarter of 2024, after a 0.9% decline in the previous quarter. The level of construction output in the first quarter of 2024 was 0.7% lower than in the same quarter of the previous year.
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