The UK economy has re-entered recession after shrinking by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2012.
The Office for National Statistics claim that a sharp fall in construction output was the primary factor behind the surprising reduction and follows a further reduction of 0.3% for the final Quarter of 2011. Some have questioned the validity of the ONS’ figures, particularly on the construction industry, which has been volatile in recent quarters.The ONS said output of the production industries decreased by 0.4%, construction decreased by 3%, and output of the service sector increased by 0.1%.
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Wednesday’s figure is an early estimate and is subject to at least two further revisions in the coming months. It is compiled using 40% of the data gathered for later revisions.
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