The UK economy was up by 0.4% in August but GDP still remains 0.8% below pre-pandemic levels .
The service industry was up by 0.3% whilst manufacturing was up by 0.5%. The economy in the three months to August grew by 2.9%, which is lower than forecasts of 3%.
New data from the Office of National Statistics found that hotels and restaurants picked up by 10.3% as people socialised more and were getting ‘pinged’ less.
“The improvement in August probably had a lot to do with the fading of the restraint from July’s “pingdemic”, which at one point meant more than 1m people were self-isolating,” said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics.
“And the recent broadening in shortages and the fuel crisis may mean that growth has come to a near-standstill since August.”
Transport also picked up in August, however, still remains below pre-pandemic levels. Air travel, for example, was up 27.5% in August thanks to relaxed restrictions. It is still 75% below pre-pandemic levels.