The latest figures for Britain’s economy have revealed that the recovery rate slowed to 0.3 per cent during the first quarter of 2015, despite experts’ earlier predictions that growth would be 0.5 per cent.
Prime Minister David Cameron emphasised that the figures show how economic recovery cannot be taken for granted but that Britain is still performing better than many other countries in Europe.
The annual rate of growth also fell slightly during the first quarter to 2.4 per cent, down from three per cent in the last quarter of 2014; however, the ONS stated that gross domestic product in the first quarter was still four per cent above the level seen before the financial crisis.
The service industry was once again one of the largest sectors reporting growth and in the first quarter it grew by 0.5 per cent, which shows that Britain remains to be reliant on consumers.
However, output from the sector, which includes restaurants, bars, and hotels, was less than the 0.9 per cent figure achieved in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Construction output fell by 1.6 per cent, agricultural output decreased by 0.2 per cent and industrial production was down 0.1 per cent.
Manufacturing output grew by 0.1 per cent, even though it was categorised as part of industrial production which reported an overall loss partly attributed to poor performance in mining as well as water and waste management.