The UK economy shrank by more than previously estimated in the third quarter of this year, according to revised figures.
Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3% in July to September 2022, compared with a previous estimate of 0.2%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Economists expect the UK to fall into recession in the final quarter of the year as high inflation continues to hit spending by households and businesses.
The services sector grew by 0.1% in the three months to September, an upward revision from the earlier estimate of 0.0%. However, manufacturing activity contracted by 2.8%, worse than the 2.3% contraction previously estimated, and construction activity declined by 0.2% compared with the previous estimate of 0.6% growth.
Electricity generation was also “notably weaker”, said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS.
Morgan added: “Household incomes continued to fall in real terms, albeit at a slower rate than in the previous two quarters, while — taking account of inflation — household spending fell for the first time since the final Covid-19 lockdown in the spring of 2021.”
The ONS estimates that GDP is now 0.8% below where it was before the pandemic, downwardly revised from the previous estimate of 0.4% below.
