The UK economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2010, less than the previous quarter but double the rate of some estimates.
Publishing data showing gross domestic product had continued to grow, albeit at a slower rate than the previous three months, the Official for National Statistics said the UK was continuing ‘its path of recovery from recession’.
Some estimates had put growth at 0.4 or 0.5 per cent for the three months to September. The ONS said growth in services, construction and production had contributed to overall growth.
Production output rose 0.6 per cent, with manufacturing growing one per cent, down from 1.6 per cent in the previous quarter.
The ONS said: “GDP has recovered about half of the output lost during the recession. In the past two recessions it took just over three years for output to reach pre-recession level.”
The ONS said the labour market ‘continued to show resilience’ with employment levels growing by 184,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2010, but this masked the different situations between the type of work employees were doing.
The stronger growth in the second quarter was partly attributed to the ‘bounce back from the effect of adverse weather’ in the first part of 2010, particularly in construction.
In the labour market, from the third quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2010, total employment rose by 0.4 per cent (120,000), but this has been driven by part-time and temporary workers.
Part-time jobs grew by 2.3 per cent, while full-time jobs have fallen by 0.3 per cent.
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