The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent between July and September 2024, according to figurers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Despite showing some economic growth, analysts claim this is a “disappointing drop” from previous boosts to the economy in other quarters.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has asserted the new Labour Government is committed to growing the economy to improving peoples’ lives.
During her Autumn Budget, Reeves outlined her fiscal vision for the country which included raising National Insurance on employers.
Analysts assert that this “less robust” growth compared to previous quarters is due to uncertainty at the time of what would be included her Budget statement.
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The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent last quarter
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Hailey Low, an associate economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, shared: “Today’s Q3 GDP figures, though less robust than in the first half of the year, reflect the impact of pre-budget uncertainty.
“More notably, it is disappointing that the Chancellor did not fully leverage her landmark budget last month to introduce measures addressing the UK’s low productivity growth, tackling growth inertia, and stimulating long-term economic growth.”
Joe Nellis, an economic adviser at MHA, added: “While a recording of 0.1 per cent growth in Q3 is a disappointing drop from the 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent in Q1 and Q2 this year respectively, this is unsurprising given the uncertainty in the build-up to the Budget leading to a more cautious approach to spending from businesses and consumers alike.
“Despite being only minor growth, we are still seeing an improvement on 2023’s Q3 figure of a 0.1 per cent contraction in the economy, and the yearly figure of one per cent GDP growth is the highest recorded since Q4 2022.
“The UK economy is still only in second gear, but it appears to be slowly moving forwards on the road to recovery as we look ahead to 2025.”
This estimate from the ONS comes under prior economist predictions of 0.2 per cent.
Earlier this week, the Chancellor said: “Improving economic growth is at the heart of everything I am seeking to achieve, which is why I am not satisfied with these numbers.
“At my Budget, I took the difficult choices to fix the foundations and stabilise our public finances.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves shared the Budget last month
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“Now we are going to deliver growth through investment and reform to create more jobs and more money in people’s pockets, get the NHS back on its feet, rebuild Britain and secure our borders in a decade of national renewal.”
The country’s services sector experienced no growth in September and only grew by 0.1 per cent last quarter, despite making up the majority of the economy.
Factory output slipped by 0.2 per cent over the three-month stint driven by a greater decline in the month of September, while the construction sector grew 0.8 per cent over the quarter.
Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “The economy grew a little in the latest quarter overall as the recent slowdown in growth continued.”
