Economy grows 0.7 per cent in the third quarter as services carry the expansion
Output rose faster between July and September than in the spring, with business services and computer programming doing most of the work, construction falling back, and September alone growing 0.2 per cent.
Britain's economy picked up pace over the summer. The Office for National Statistics estimated on Thursday that gross domestic product grew by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2026, covering July to September, after growth of 0.5 per cent in the second quarter. Output was 1.9 per cent higher than in the same three months a year earlier, and output per head rose by the same 0.7 per cent in the quarter and by 1.7 per cent over the year.
The monthly path inside the quarter was uneven. September grew by 0.2 per cent, August was flat after the statisticians revised its earlier 0.1 per cent increase down to no growth, and July kept its unrevised 0.4 per cent rise. In September alone, services and production each contributed growth, up 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively, while construction rose 0.8 per cent in that month.
Services did almost all of the quarterly work. The sector expanded by 0.9 per cent, with output 2.3 per cent above its level a year earlier. Business-facing services grew by 1.0 per cent against 0.5 per cent for consumer-facing services, and 11 of the 14 services subsectors expanded. The single largest contribution came from administrative and support services, up 4.1 per cent on the strength of rental and leasing, which rose 6.6 per cent.
GDP is estimated to be 1.9% higher compared with the same quarter a year ago.Office for National Statistics, GDP first quarterly estimate, 12 November 2026
Technology was the other standout. Information and communication grew by 2.1 per cent, driven by computer programming, consultancy and related work, up 4.4 per cent. The statisticians said this industry has been the largest driver of growth across 2026, with many of the firms reporting the biggest turnover gains involved in AI-related work and cloud computing, while cautioning that their data collection makes the exact contribution of those activities hard to quantify.
The goods-producing side was far weaker. Production as a whole edged up by just 0.1 per cent, because manufacturing growth of 0.9 per cent, led by a 4.6 per cent rise in computer, electronic and optical products, was mostly offset by falls in mining and quarrying, down 2.2 per cent, energy supply, down 2.1 per cent, and water and waste, down 1.5 per cent. Across the whole economy, 13 of the 20 subsectors grew.
Construction went backwards, falling 0.7 per cent in the quarter to stand 1.7 per cent below a year earlier. New work dropped 1.6 per cent, with private housing new work down 4.7 per cent, partly cushioned by a 0.5 per cent rise in repair and maintenance. On the spending side, household consumption and government consumption each rose 0.6 per cent, gross fixed capital formation rose 1.7 per cent, and business investment rose a more modest 0.4 per cent, leaving it 3.0 per cent higher than a year before. In cash terms the economy grew 1.4 per cent in the quarter. The statisticians reminded readers that these first estimates can move in either direction as fuller data arrives.
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