UK economy gathers pace with 0.6% growth
The UK economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), grew by 0.6% in the second quarter of the year, according to the preliminary estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The headline figure relates to second quarter growth on the first quarter of 2013, but growth was also up on the same quarter of 2012 by 1.4%. However, there is a rider to that rise in that the second quarter of 2012 contained an extra bank holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
All the main industrial grouping — agriculture — production, construction and services – increased in the second quarter compared with the first.
Construction’s 0.9% quarter-on-quarter increase comes from a low base as the sector has been hit hard in recent years.
The service sector, which accounts for about 80% of output, grew by 0.6% in the second quarter, while manufacturing grew by 0.4%.
However, the bald reality is that GDP is still 3.3% below its pre-recession peak.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “After years of bumping along the bottom, it’s encouraging to finally see some growth in the economy.
“But it’s a measure of how poor the economy is faring that this level of growth is being welcomed. We remain stuck in the slowest recovery for a century. The bigger picture is an economy that has grown half as much as forecast when the government came to power.”