Britain’s economy has grown by over 2.3% since the hospitality and retail sectors reopened in April.
The countries gross domestic product, or GDP, stands at over 27.6% higher than the same month last year. This growth is easily explained as this time last year the UK was in the grips of the first national lockdown.
The data from the Office of National Statistics covers April 12th. This is when restrictions began to ease and people were allowed to eat out, drink outdoors and non essential shops reopened. The ONS says that Aprils growth is the largest since last July.
However, is it enough? The GDP is still 3.7% below its pre pandemic peak of February 2020. Deputy National Statistician Jonathon Athow, attributes the growth to schools and shops reopening. The growth is also spreading to cars and caravans sales.
The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a drastic drop of GDP by almost 10%. It is the biggest economic crash in over three hundred decades. Forecasters are predicting, if the economic growth continues to rise like this, it will be the fastest rise since World War II.
UK economy on the right track
The growth of the UK economy is continuing to rise, but the delay of July 21st reopening could hinder all the hard work of consumers.
The UK GDP shrunk by over 1.5% in the first quarter. However, it has been recovering since a 2.5% drop in January. In February it rose slightly to 0.7% and then grew again by 2.1% in March.
Thomas Pugh is a UK Economist at Capital Economics. He states that the jump in April shows an eagerness of people to spend.
Professionals did think that trade friction over Brexit could have caused a slump in the UK economy. However, Mr Athow recovered from the disruptions at the beginning of the year. They are still down on 2020 levels but they are steadily rising.
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