UK economy grew by 0.6% in second quarter of the year, ONS says

Figures show that the economy grew the second quarter of 2024, with the service sector driving the boost, ITV News Political Correspondent Shehab Khan reports.

The UK economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter of the year, as it continues to pull away from last year’s shallow recession.

The Office for National Statistics reports that the services sector drove growth, while the production sector and construction both shrank slightly.

The figures follow a growth of 0.7% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar).

It was in line with predictions from economists, but nevertheless was a welcome boost for the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Commenting on the figures, ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said: “The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year.

“Growth across the three months was led by the service sector, where scientific research, the IT industry and legal services all did well.

“In June growth was flat with services falling, due to a weak month for health, retailing and wholesaling, offset by widespread growth in manufacturing.”

The ONS says there has been no economic growth recorded in June as weakness in services was offset by improvements in the manufacturing sector.

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It comes after no growth was also recorded in April due to an impact from wet weather, and then 0.4% growth in May as the economy recovered.

The second-quarter performance came after 0.7% growth in the first quarter, following a shallow recession over the second half of 2023.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The new government is under no illusion as to the scale of the challenge we have inherited after more than a decade of low economic growth and a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.

“That is why we have made economic growth our national mission and we are taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”

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