UK economy recovers faster than expected with 5.5% growth

The UK’s economy bounced back faster than experts expected, jumping by 5.5% over April to June this year when Covid restrictions eased.

It is now 3.3% below where it was before the Covid crisis hit last year, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

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Experts first estimated growth in gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 4.8% between April to June – but instead it jumped 5.5%.

April saw the biggest rise, with the economy growing by 2.8% that month.

It then nudged up 0.6% in May and 1.4% in June.

Shopping and eating out were among the main reasons behind the growth, when non-essential retail and pubs, restaurants and bars began to open at this point.

The hospitality sector boomed, with an 87.6% growth in output, while retailers saw business jump by 13.1%.

The Euro 2020 games also helped to fuel this growth, the ONS said.

It meant household spending jumped by 7.9% overall between April to June.

Meanwhile, the services sector – including warehouse workers and delivery drivers, as well as health and social care workers – grew by 6.5%.

And the education sector soared by 20.6% as schools began to re-open during this time.

Workers also saw a boost to their pay packets, with a 1.7% rise in wages.

But Britain’s bounceback could be dampened following a series of supply and staff shortages that have happened since June.

Recent figures from the ONS showed recovery slowed in July, up 0.1% compared to 1% in June.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk