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The UK economy has grown by 0.6% between April and June, in part boosted by the service sector, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. The second quarter growth follows a GDP rise of 0.7% in the first quarter of the year. Despite this, GDP showed no growth in June, according to the ONS.
Nonetheless, the three-month growth was boosted by the service sector, which rose by 0.8% over the period following “widespread” growth. This offset falls of 0.1% in both production and construction over the quarter.
Elsewhere, there were increases in gross capital formation, government consumption and household spending in expenditure terms, which were partially offset by falls in net trade.
In June, where growth stagnated, services output fell by 0.1%, following unrevised growth of 0.3% in May 2024. Production output grew by 0.8% however, while construction output grew by 0.5%.
ONS director of Economic Statistics, Liz McKeown, said: “The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year. Growth across the three months was led by the service sector, where scientific research, the IT industry and legal services all did well.
“In June growth was flat with services falling, due to a weak month for health, retailing and wholesaling, offset by widespread growth in manufacturing.”
Ben Jones, CBI lead economist, said: “After a strong performance in May, a slowdown in GDP growth was always on the cards for June. But a second successive quarter of above-trend growth suggests the UK economy has finally shaken off its slumber of recent years.
“We think the quarterly data probably overstates the underlying momentum in the economy, with recent CBI surveys of activity remaining fairly subdued. But firms nonetheless appear confident that the recovery will continue.”
He added: “After a challenging few years, and ahead of the Autumn budget, the focus is shifting to the steps needed to raise the UK’s growth rate over the long-term. This could include the reforms set out in our recent business tax roadmap, which can incentivise private investment and together with a Net Zero Investment plan boost green growth, one of the fastest growing sectors in the country.”
