LONDON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom (UK) increased by 0.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024, following a growth of 0.5 percent in the second quarter, according to official data released on Friday.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the services and construction sectors saw a growth of 0.1 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while the production sector fell by 0.2 percent.
"The economy grew a little in the latest quarter overall as the recent slowdown in growth continued. Retail and new construction work both performed well, partially offset by falls in telecommunications and wholesale," said Liz McKeown, ONS's director of economic statistics.
"Generally, growth was subdued across most industries in the latest quarter," McKeown noted.
In September, the UK GDP dropped by 0.1 percent, largely due to falls in manufacturing and IT, according to the ONS.
"After bouncing back from recession earlier this year, Britain's recovery is already running out of steam," said Simon Pittaway, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, noting that the UK economy's medium-term performance has been "staid and stagnant."
"This all serves to highlight that the government's mission to renew strong economic growth is both extremely hard, and absolutely necessary," said Pittaway.
At the end of October, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced her first budget, outlining plans to raise taxes by 40 billion pounds (50.5 billion U.S. dollars) a year. This was the Labour's first budget since returning to power in July after 14 years.
But Hailey Low, associate economist from think tank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said: "It is disappointing that the Chancellor did not fully leverage her landmark budget last month to announce measures that address the UK's low productivity growth and stimulate long-term economic growth."
