Gross domestic product is the economic output of Britain. We compare GDP now and in the past
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Britain's economic output is even worse than first thought for the last months of 2011 but the estimate has remained at a decrease of 0.3% for the start of this year. Official GDP figures have confirmed this today.
The key numbers from this second estimate by the Office for National Statistics are that
- UK gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms decreased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2012, unrevised from the previously estimated 0.3% decline
- Output of the production industries fell by 0.5%, within which manufacturing output fell by 0.3%
- Output of the service industries rose by 0.2%, while output of the construction industry fell by 4.9%
- Household final consumption expenditure decreased by 0.1% in volume terms in the latest quarter
- In current price terms, compensation of employees rose by 1.1% in the first quarter of 2012
A technical recession is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of economic decline. That means we are still in recession.
The data we have gathered shows percentage change in GDP going back to 1948, we have a spreadsheet to download that shows GDP in cash, ie what it was that year not adjusted for inflation, total inflation-adjusted figures and per capita inflation adjusted figures.
The figures show this recession is now worse than the 1930s - thanks to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research for the data.
As several of our posters below have pointed out, there's more to life than GDP – but here are the latest GDP figures from the ONS for you to explore.
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