UK economy grows by 0.8% in first quarter
The UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first
quarter of 2014, according to the latest figures.
It marks
the fifth consecutive period of GDP growth - the longest positive run since the
financial crisis. Gross domestic product is a measure of a country's economic
activity, including all the goods and services produced in a given period. The
Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said the economy is now 0.6% smaller
than its 2008 peak. Chancellor George Osborne said Tuesday's figure showed that
"Britain is coming back", but that the recovery could not be taken
for granted.
"The
impact of the Great Recession is still being felt, but the foundations for a
broad based recovery are now in place," he added. "The biggest risk
to economic security would be abandoning the plan that is laying those
foundations." Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that despite the positive
growth figure, "millions of hardworking people are still feeling no
recovery at all". "Now that growth has finally returned, the question
is whether ordinary working people will properly feel the benefit and we have a
balanced recovery that's built to last," he added. The ONS's first growth
estimate for the quarter is a slight increase on the 0.7% recorded for the
final quarter of 2013, and a rise of 3.1% on the same period a year ago.
Solid not spectacular
But many
had been expecting it to be even higher, at 0.9%. "While this figure has
missed estimates, slightly, the overall feeling is still one of strength in the
UK," said Jeremy Cook, chief economist at currency brokers World First. "In
fact, this is the kind of news the economy needs - solid but not
spectacular." UK manufacturing was one of the strongest performers in the
latest figures, with output growing by 1.3%, the ONS said, its strongest
quarter for nearly four years. And the service sector, which includes
everything from hotels and leisure to accountants, grew by 0.9%.
UK GDP growth, quarter on previous quarter
Construction
output, which grew by 0.3%, was affected by the storms and high rainfall in
January and February, the ONS said. But it added that the bad weather did not
have a significant impact on overall GDP growth. Agriculture was the only one
of the four main industrial sectors to register a fall in output, dropping by
0.7%.
Wage growth
Earlier
this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expected the UK to be
the best-performing of the world's largest economies in 2014, with growth of
2.9% for the year. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)
predicts 2.7%, and in February the Bank of England (BoE) raised its 2014 growth
forecast to 3.4%. The positive news on economic growth also follows recent data
from the ONS that showed weekly earnings had finally caught up with inflation,
after six years of falling behind.
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