UK economy stronger than previously thought
03/09/2014
The UK economy has grown stronger over the past few years than was previously thought, according to new figures from The Office for National Statistics.
The new figures are due to a change in the way The Office for National Statistics (ONS), who are the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics, calculate the size of Britain’s economy. They now illustrate how the UK economy grew more strongly than thought, after Britain's coalition government came to power in 2010.
The ONS have now said the economy grew 0.7% in 2012, not 0.3% as previously thought, and 1.6% in 2011, as opposed to 1.1%. The ONS also suggested the recession ended in the third quarter of 2013.
Over the period 1998 to 2012, on average, the UK economy has grown by 0.1% per year. During the recent recession, growth was not as weak as the ONS previously thought and while coming out of the recession, the UK economy’s progress has been stronger than the ONS originally reported.
Although this seems positive, the UK economy is still struggling. The recent downturn has been the deepest since ONS records began in 1948. The recovery has also been the slowest.
ONS Chief Economist Joe Grice said:
“Despite the wide ranging improvements underpinning the new estimates, the broad picture of the economy has not changed much. Although the downturn was less deep than previously estimated and subsequent growth stronger, it remains the case that the UK experienced the deepest recession since ONS records began in 1948 and the subsequent recovery has been unusually slow.
Over the period 1998-2012, the overall size of revisions remains small at an average of 0.1 percentage points per year.”
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