10 Mar 2023
Ahead of the 2023 Spring Budget next week, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that the UK economy grew by 0.3% in January 2023 after shrinking by 0.5% in December 2022.
According to the data, the services sector grew by 0.5% in January after falling by 0.8% in December.
However, the data also showed that output in both the manufacturing and construction sectors has declined.
Commenting on the figures, Darren Morgan, Director of Economic Statistics at the ONS, said: 'The economy partially bounced back from the large fall seen in December. Across the last three months as a whole and, indeed, over the last 12 months, the economy has, though, showed zero growth.
'The main drivers of January's growth were the return of children to classrooms, following unusually high absences in the run-up to Christmas; the Premier League clubs returned to a full schedule after the end of the World Cup; and private health providers also had a strong month.'