Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
- UK economy grew by 0.8% in May, slower than expected
- Reopening boosted services sector…
- …but UK carmakers hit by chip shortage
- Industrial production lifted by energy demand…construction output falls
- April’s GDP revised down too
UK GDP grew by 3.6% in the three months to May 2021.
That’s mainly because of strong retail sales over the three months, increased levels of attendance as schools reopened from March, and the reopening of food and beverage service activities, the ONS says.
Pubs and restaurants were responsible for much of the growth in May, says Jonathan Athow, the UK’s deputy national statistician.
That’s because they were allowed to service customer indoors from mid-May.
Commenting on the GDP figures for May, @jathers_ONS said: (1/2) pic.twitter.com/jDrupIYOiJ
.@jathers_ONS continued: (2/2) pic.twitter.com/NP3V6gQP4s
Food and beverage services activities was the main contributor to the growth in consumer-facing services, growing by 34.0% in May 2021 as restaurants and pubs could serve the public indoors for part of the month.
Strong growth means that the industry is now 9.4% below its pre-pandemic level (February 2020), but 0.3% above its August 2020 peak when the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme boosted consumer demand for bars and restaurants. Arts, entertainment and recreation also contributed positively to consumer-facing services growth, growing by 7.3%.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/36m4sli
No comments:
Post a Comment