The UK’s economy grew by 0.6% between April and June as it continued its recovery from the recession at the end of last year. The latest figure was broadly in line with forecasts and it follows a 0.7% increase in the first three months of this year.
Growth was led by the services sector, in particular the IT industry, legal services and scientific research.
“The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year,” said Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics, which released the figures.
The data was welcomed by the CBI’s Lead Economist, Ben Jones:
“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.
“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.”