UK recession confirmed as GDP falls 0.3%

The UK economy shrank by 0.3% in the first quarter, the final official reading has confirmed.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) left the fall in UK GDP unrevised from the previous estimate. The fall was in line with estimates, and means the UK is officially back in recession following a 0.3% decline in Q4. The main cause of the decline in Q1 was attributed to the manufacturing and production industries. Output from the production industries fell 0.5%, while manufacturing output shrank by 0.3%. This is a worrying sign given the coalition government's plans to grow the economy out of recession by re-building the UK's manufacturing industry. The fall in GDP...