In the first month of the year, Britain’s economy showed expansion, signalling an end to the recession that concluded in 2023.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a 0.2% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for January. This growth comes after a 0.3% decrease in the last quarter of 2023, which had led Britain into a technical recession, following a 0.1% contraction in the preceding three months.
This positive economic trend is likely to be encouraging for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has committed to revitalizing the country’s economic growth.
The construction sector played a significant role in this economic uptick, witnessing a 1.1% increase in output in January. Additionally, the retail and wholesale sectors also saw expansion.
This economic growth is occurring despite the challenges of a high number of people being economically inactive in the country. Currently, about 9.25 million individuals of working age fall into this category, a rise from 8.55 million in February 2020.
Notably, nearly three million of these economically inactive individuals are under the age of 25, representing an increase of 384,000 in the past four years.
