The UK economy has performed worse than previously thought and below the expectations of economists, new official figures show, meaning the country has taken the first step towards recession.
There’s been a downward revision to a key measure of economic growth, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday morning.
Rather than remaining stagnant, as first thought, the economy contracted 0.1% in the three months from July to September.
Economists had been expecting growth of 0.2%.
A country is technically in recession after two three-month periods of a shrinking economy.
If the final data for the fourth quarter of 2023, from October to December – which will be released next year – shows a contraction, the country will officially be in recession.
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