UK economy grows by  15.5 per cent

The UK’s economy bounced back from recession in July to September, but growth showed signs of slowing down at the end of three months.

Growth of 15.5 per cent from July to September after a six-month slump induced by the first coronavirus lockdown was the biggest on record according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Weaker growth in September than in the preceding months, while the country’s economy is 8.2 per cent smaller than before the pandemic struck, as the economy had shrunk in the first three months of the year and then contracted by a record 19.8 per cent from April-to-June.

A second lockdown started in England on 5 November is due to finish on 2 December.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.8 per cent  in the three months to September up from 4.5 per cent, as the number of people out of work rose by 243, 000 in the three-month period the largest since May 2009.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said, “ It was going to be a difficult winter and our priority remains to protect as many jobs as possible. I am confident that the measures we have put in place will do the job that we need them to do”.