BCC: moderate GDP figures suggest three-tier economy

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said the latest GDP figures demonstrate that the UK’s economic recovery remains fragile. economy_7064095Sml

The preliminary UK GDP figures for Q4 2015, published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), revealed that GDP growth in Q4 2015 was 0.5%, after 0.4% in Q3.

Services rose 0.7% in the quarter, but production and construction output recorded small declines.

Annual GDP growth in the fourth quarter was 1.9%, and for 2015 as a whole the pace of expansion was 2.2% – well below the 2.9% recorded in 2014.

The BCC said that the moderate GDP figures suggest a three-tier economy.

David Kern, BCC Chief Economist, said:

“Given the difficult international background it is not surprising that the UK failed to sustain the more impressive economic growth seen in 2014. Services remains the main driver of the economy, while production and construction are down.

“The GDP figures demonstrate that the recovery remains fragile. While the services sector continues to grow, production is close to stagnation and the construction sector is now in recession. Every effort must be made to support both these sectors as we seek to rebalance the economy.”

 

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