UK’s Economic Growth Figures for February

Reacting to the UK’s economic growth figures for February, Richard Miller, Business Engagement & Policy Manager for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce said:

“While economic output continued to grow in February, the significant slowdown in growth (from 0.8% in January to 0.1% in February) indicates that the UK economy was losing steam even before the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tourism and accommodation services recorded the strongest improvements as the end of Plan B restrictions and reduced concerns over omicron supported activity. But while the positive figures for the visitor economy appear good for Cumbria, this has to be viewed in the light of spiralling fuel and wider cost of living prices, which are expected to impact on demand moving forward, alongside the staffing and cost challenges faced by the sector.

And the overall picture masks declines in manufacturing and construction, also key sectors for our economy. Growth was also impacted by a significant drop in NHS Test & Trace services and vaccine activity.

February’s slowdown is likely to be the start of a prolonged period of considerably weaker growth as rising inflation, surging energy bills and higher taxes increasingly damage key drivers of UK output, including consumer spending and business investment.

As the very least the Government must act now to provide urgent financial support, through the expansion of the energy bills rebate scheme, to include smaller and energy intensive businesses, and an SME energy price cap to protect smaller businesses from some of the price increases.”