News Digest:

Official GDP numbers in the UK remained unchanged over the final three months of 2022 in spite of a sharp contraction of its economy over Christmas. This meant the country narrowly avoided a technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in the GDP numbers.

According to numbers shared by the Office of National Statistics, public services in December were hit by fewer operations and GP visits, partly due to strikes as well as the lower school attendance numbers. In addition, the postal strikes also caused a slowdown. GDP grew overall by 4% in 2022, making it the best performing economy of the developed world.

Takeaway:

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the UK was indeed the fastest growing economy among the G7 and had actually swerved off a recession as feared by many. However, he warned that the country isn’t out of the woods yet when it comes to inflation, as the economy is 0.8% smaller than it was before Covid-19.

End Notes

Source: https://www.cityam.com/uk-narrowly-avoids-recession-as-gdp-remains-unchanged-but-jeremy-hunt-warns-country-not-out-the-woods-yet/