Economic slowdown continues as Brexit day nears as manufacturing of cars and medicines plunge
- Economy grew by 0.3 per cent between September and November, figures say
- UK GDP growth is slower than the 0.4 per cent between August and October
- Slowdown driven by a shrinking manufacturing sector, weakened by cars
An economic slowdown continued through the autumn as manufacturing shrank, led by a plunge in the strength of car and pharmaceutical firms.
As Brexit day nears in March, the economy has been slowing since last summer, new Office for National Statistics reveal today.
Over the three months to November, GDP rose 0.3 per cent compared with the previous quarter. This stacks up with growth of 0.4 per cent recorded in the three months to October.
The UK economy grew by 0.2 per cent in November compared with a month earlier, according to the ONS. That compares with growth of 0.1 per cent in October 2018.
Over the three months to November, GDP rose 0.3 per cent compared with the previous quarter. This stacks up with growth of 0.4 per cent recorded in the three months to October
Trouble in the car manufacturing sector was laid bare yesterday as Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest car firm, announced it was cutting 5,000 jobs.
The company blamed collapsing sales of diesel cars, the US-China trade war and uncertainty about how Brexit will unfold.
Head of national accounts at the ONS Rob Kent-Smith said: ‘Growth in the UK economy continued to slow in the three months to November 2018 after performing more strongly through the middle of the year.
‘Accountancy and house-building again grew but a number of other areas were sluggish.
‘Manufacturing saw a steep decline, with car production and the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry both performing poorly.’
In the detail of the figures, month on month, construction growth was 0.6 per cent in November.
Manufacturing contracted 0.3 per cent, while services activity rose 0.3 per cent.
Production as a whole contracted 0.4 per cent.
An economic slowdown continued through the autumn as manufacturing shrank, led by a plunge in the strength of car and pharmaceutical firms