Household spending drives rise in GDP

Published on 27/11/2012 11:01

THE STRONGEST rise in household spending in more than two years helped kickstart the UK’s dramatic bounce back to economic growth between July and September, official figures revealed today.

Gross domestic product (GDP) - a broad measure for the total economy - grew at an unrevised 1 per cent in the third quarter of the year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The second estimate includes figures on the spending side of the economy for the first time, which revealed that the Olympics and Paralympic Games helped household spending grow by 0.6 per cent, the strongest rate since the second quarter of 2010.

The unchanged headline GDP figure remains the fastest rate of quarterly growth in five years and marked the end of the longest double-dip recession since the 1950s.