Final data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that GDP grew by 0.7% in Q1 after falling by 0.3% in Q4. Economists had expected the economy to expand by 0.6%. Meanwhile, GDP did not change in April, as an increase in the services sector was offset by falls in production and construction. The figures come less than a week before Britons vote in an election which opinion polls suggest will see Labour Party leader Keir Starmer replace Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The ONS said that in the 1st quarter, the growth was driven by a 0.8% increase in services output (revised from +0.7%) and 0.6% increase in production (revised from +0.8%). Early estimates suggest 12 out of 20 of the subsectors grew across Quarter 1, up from 6 the previous quarter. The second largest positive contribution to growth was from the transport and storage subsector, which grew by 4.3%. Overall, consumer-facing services grew by 0.6% in Q1, following a fall of 0.4% in Q4. This was largely driven by retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles. The production sector is estimated to have increased by 0.6% in Q1 (revised from +0.8%). The production sector revision is because of a downward revision in the manufacturing subsector, which is now estimated to have increased by 1.1% (previously +1.4%). Construction output is estimated to have fallen by 0.6% in Q1, revised up from a first estimate fall of 0.9%, mainly because of upward revisions in new work.