Encouraging growth in consumer-facing sectors despite cost of living crisis

Commenting on ONS data that showed monthly GDP was flat in February 2023, and up by 0.1% in the three months to February, Kitty Ussher, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors, said:

“While a flat economy is not usually grounds for celebration, there are some encouraging signs in today’s data. The consumer-facing sectors – notably retail – grew in the month despite bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis, and the construction sector performed strongly. In fact, were it not for the industrial action that took place in the public sector, the economy overall would have grown.

“Taken together with the upward revision to January’s data, it now seems likely that first quarter growth will come in more strongly than the Office of Budget Responsibility predicted only a few weeks ago.”