UK enjoys first quarter growth after weaker 2025

UK economic growth hit 0.6 per cent in the first three months of 2026, according to latest figures.

However, the number was weaker than first thought at the end of last year.

The Office for National Statistics left growth unrevised for the first quarter of this year, but said gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a revised 0.1 per cent at the end of 2025, against the 0.2 per cent previously recorded.

Revisions to the data mean growth over 2025 as a whole was 1.3 per cent, revised down from 1.4 per cent, and following expansion of one per cent in 2024.

The figures confirm strong expansion at the start of the year before the impact of the Iranian conflict.

The most recent monthly data signalled a hit from the Middle East fighting, with the economy contracting by 0.1 per cent in April.

The latest Office for National Statistics figures showed real GDP per head, taking inflation into account, is estimated to have increased by 0.6 per cent in the first three months of 2026, up by 0.7 per cent from a year ago.

However, the figures showed a fall in real household disposable income of 0.8 per cent, down sharply from a rise of 1.2 per cent in the previous three months.

A breakdown of the GDP figures confirmed first quarter growth of 0.8 per cent for the services sector, while the construction and production sectors both expanded by 0.2 per cent.

Liz McKeown, Office for National Statistics’ director of economic statistics, said: “Services were the main driver of growth in the latest quarter, with strength in computer programming, wholesale and advertising only partially offset by falls in rental companies and recruitment agencies.

“The household saving ratio continued to ease at the start of 2026, but remains above its pre-pandemic levels.”

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