The Office of National Statistics (ONS) confirmed today that the rate of national growth for the first three months of 2011 was 0.5%, a figure unchanged from previous estimates.
There weren’t many surprises in the report issued by the ONS, as slow UK economic growth so far in 2011 followed on from a 0.5% contraction at the end of 2010.
Manufacturing output was lower than had first been forecast, but this was cancelled out by a better final figure for Construction output. The Service sector, which contributes 75% of the UK’s national output, stayed unchanged.
Household spending was also revealed to be down 0.6%, the biggest fall since 2009.
This data seemed to confirm the struggle the UK economy faces in 2011, as economic growth remains much lower than pre-recession days, whilst household spending goes down as consumers cut down on non-essential items such as shoes and clothing.