Economy bounced back by 7.5% last year, strongest growth since World War Two
11 February 2022, 09:51 | Updated: 11 February 2022, 12:23
The UK's economy rebounded by a record 7.5% in 2021, official figures show, the fastest since World War Two.
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The 7.5% figures refers to the UK's GDP, the quickest rebound since ONS records began in 1948, and exceeded the Bank of England's expectations.
In the final three months of 2021, the economy grew by 1%, after suffering a record 9.4% slump in 2020 during the pandemic.
This included a 1.2% growth in service industries, making the sector 0.5% bigger than pre-pandemic levels.
This was despite a 0.2% contraction in the economy in December 2021, and two years of chaos for service and hospitality venues.
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Production output in the last quarter of 2021 dropped by 0.4%.
Inflation levels also continue to cause woes, with the cost of living rapidly increasing and millions of Brits facing a crisis this year over how to pay their bills.
A large part of the problem is rising energy costs, with customers now facing an average rise in bills of £700.
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'The Chancellor is effectively taking a worrying gamble with people's finances.'
ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: "GDP fell back slightly in December as the Omicron wave hit, with retail and hospitality seeing the biggest impacts.
"However, these were partially offset by increases in the Test and Trace service and vaccination programmes.
"Despite December's setback, GDP grew robustly across the fourth quarter as a whole, with the NHS, couriers and employment agencies all helping to support the economy."
Mr Morgan added that although GDP in December was in line with levels from February 2020, the fourth quarter as a whole was "slightly below" the same period in 2019, before the pandemic struck.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: "Thanks to our £400 billion package of support and making the right calls at the right time, the economy has been remarkably resilient; with the UK seeing the fastest growth in the G7 last year and GDP remaining at pre-pandemic levels in December.
"I'm proud of the resolve the whole country has demonstrated, and proud of our incredible vaccine programme which has allowed the economy to stay open.
"We're continuing to help the economy rebuild through our Plan for Jobs, boost for business investment and support for households with the cost of living."
