Manufacturing helps UK economy see strongest growth since 2007

The UK economy saw a 1.9 percent growth in 2013, its strongest since 2007l, according to figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with output from production now at its highest level since Q1 2012.

Growth in production increased by 0.7% in Q4 2013, following an increase of 0.6% in the previous quarter, it said, with manufacturing contributing the most to the increase.

Manufacturing was up 0.9 percent in the last quarter, following an increase of 0.8% in Q3 2013, its biggest quarter-on-quarter rise since Q3 in 2010.

Growth in GDP increased by 0.7 percent in Q4 2013 compared with Q3 2013.

“Growth is broadly based, with manufacturing growing fastest of all,” commented Chancellor George Osbourne.

“It is more evidence that our long term economic plan is working. But the job is not done, and it is clear that the biggest risk now to the recovery would be abandoning the plan that’s delivering jobs and a brighter economic future,” he continued.  

“We have now seen four successive quarters of significant growth and the economy does seem to be improving more consistently,” commented Joe Grice, Chief Economic Adviser at the Office for National Statistics.

Grice added that although today’s figures suggest over four fifths of the fall in GDP during the recession has been recovered, it still remains 1.3 per cent below the pre-recession peak.