ONS: UK enters double dip recession
A trend unseen since the 70s
The UK has sunk into a double dip recession with the UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinking by 0.2 percent in the first three months of this year.
The figures issued by the Office of National Statistics mark a trend not seen since the 1970s, and piles pressure on the government to be more lenient with its austerity drive.
According to the ONS, the shrinking of the GDP from January through to March was unexpected. It said the bout came as a result of a 0.3 percent contraction in the last quarter of 2011.
The decline in the GDP was put down to a number of factors, most notably in the construction sector, which saw its output decreased by 3.0 percent in the first quarter of 2012, following a decrease of 0.2 percent in the previous quarter.
Output of the production industries also decreased by 0.4 percent in Q1 2012, following a decrease of 1.3 percent in the previous quarter.
However, there was a slither of light in the service industries, which balanced out its previous losses by increasing by 0.1 percent in Q1 2012, following a decrease of 0.1 percent in the previous quarter.
“GDP in volume terms is flat in Q1 2012, when compared with Q1 2011,” the ONS concluded.