THE UK economy continued its recovery from recession at the end of last year as growth extended over the latest quarter, according to official data.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6% between April and June.
The ONS said there was no economic growth recorded for the month of June as weakness in services was offset by improvements in the manufacturing sector.
It came after no growth was recorded in April due to an impact from wet weather, and then 0.4% growth in May as the economy recovered.
The second-quarter performance came after 0.7% growth in the first quarter, following a shallow recession over the second half of 2023.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “The UK economy has now grown strongly for two quarters, following the weakness we saw in the second half of last year.
“Growth across the three months was led by the service sector, where scientific research, the IT industry and legal services all did well.
“In June growth was flat with services falling, due to a weak month for health, retailing and wholesaling, offset by widespread growth in manufacturing.”
The service industry contracted by 0.1% for the month, as high street and wholesale retailers recorded a 1% drop.
Responding to the figures, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The new Government is under no illusion as to the scale of the challenge we have inherited after more than a decade of low economic growth and a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.
“That is why we have made economic growth our national mission and we are taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
