The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said April’s data showed UK's gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the size of the economy, fell by 0.3% in the main services sector, primarily due to the government’s Covid Test and Trace scheme ending and lower vaccination activity.
The ONS added that there were declines in the manufacturing and construction sectors, down 1% and 0.4% respectively in April, with manufacturers in particular noting the impact of soaring prices and supply chain issues.
Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “A big drop in the health sector due to the winding down of the test and trace scheme pushed the UK economy into negative territory in April. Manufacturing also suffered due to the rising fuel and energy prices.
Responding to the latest GDP figures released by the ONS, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “Countries around the world are seeing slowing growth and the UK is not immune from these challenges. I want to reassure people, we’re fully focused on growing the economy to address the cost of living in the longer term, while supporting families and businesses with the immediate pressures they’re facing.
“We have a plan to turbocharge productivity through investment in capital, people and ideas, so everyone across the country can benefit from a strong, healthy economy.”
Environment Secretary George Eustice said the decline in the UK economy in April presents “some real challenges ahead” and blamed both recovery from the pandemic and supply chain pressure as the reason for the fall.
He said: “We’ve known for some time this was going to be a challenge. We’ve got unemployment that’s at record lows, the lowest it’s been since 1974, but of course there are some real challenges ahead and these GDP figures are a reminder of those challenges.”
