UK GDP grew by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, according to the latest quarterly national accounts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
UK GDP grew by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, according to the latest quarterly national accounts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The key points from the latest release from the ONS are:
- GDP increased by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014.The largest contribution to the increase came from the services sector, which increased by 0.9%.The increase in GDP followed growth of 0.7% in Q4 2013. In the latest quarter there were increases in three of the four main aggregates; output increased by 0.9% in services, 0.8% in production and 0.3% in construction. However, output decreased by 0.7% in agriculture.
- The 0.8% increase in production contributed 0.11 percentage points to the increase in GDP, with manufacturing increasing by 1.3% following an increase of 0.6% in Q4 2013.
- GDP was 3.1% higher in Q1 2014 compared with the same quarter a year ago.
- GDP in the UK grew steadily from 2000 until early 2008, at which point a financial market shock affected UK and global economic growth. Up until that point, services in the UK had continued to grow steadily, while production output had been broadly flat over the same period. Construction activity grew strongly in the early part of the decade and although there was a temporary decline in the mid-2000s, this was reversed by the end of 2007. The deterioration in general economic conditions during 2008/09 was more acute in the construction and production industries, but less pronounced in the services industries.
- Economic growth resumed towards the end of 2009, but at a slower rate than the period prior to 2008. The services industries grew steadily, if slowly, during this period, with activity exceeding the level previously seen in early 2008 by Q3 2013. By contrast, production and construction activity grew in 2010 but did not sustain this growth, and as a result have not yet returned to their pre-downturn peaks. Although there has been widespread growth since the start of 2013, the service industries remain the largest and steadiest contributor to economic growth. In Q1 2014 GDP was estimated to be 0.6% below the peak in Q1 2008.
- From the peak in Q1 2008 to the trough in Q2 and Q3 2009, GDP decreased by 7.2%. Previous economic downturns in the early 1980s and early 1990s did not see the same level of impact on GDP. In the early 1990s downturn, GDP decreased by 2.9% from the peak in Q2 1990 to the trough in Q3 1991. From Q2 1979 to Q1 1981, a period which included a quarter of positive growth, GDP decreased by 5.9%; over five consecutive quarters of falling GDP beginning in Q1 1980, GDP decreased by 4.6%.
2 Responses to “UK GDP up 0.8 per cent”
Selohesra
Too far – too fast
Whomever
GDP is up because debt (borrowing) is up.