Britain’s economy is “emerging” from recession after growing by 0.6% in the last quarter

UK economy bounces back from recession with faster-than-expected growth in Q1 2024

The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.6% between January and March. It comes after two quarters of decline – what amounts to a technical recession – in the back half of 2023.

A consensus of economists had predicted a 0.4 percent improvement for the latest quarter.

READ MORE: Drug dealing father pays £1m to violent gang boss plotting to kill son after house raid

READ MORE: Man arrested in Liverpool on suspicion of murder in Northern Ireland

The ONS’s director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, said: “After two quarters of contraction, the UK economy returned to positive growth in the first three months of this year.

“There was overall strength in service industries, with retail, public transport and freight, and healthcare performed well.

“And the carmakers had a good quarter. These were only slightly offset by another weak quarter for construction.”

Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by subscribing to the Echo Daily newsletter here