UK GDP grows 0.7% in the third quarter
· BehindLines newsroom
The UK economy grew by 0.7% between July and September 2026, according to the first estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the official statistics body, published on 12 November. The BBC sees it as the fastest quarterly growth in more than two years.
The ONS figures
Gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms had risen 0.5% in the second quarter. Over a year, it is up 1.9%. Per head, the increase is 0.7% over the quarter and 1.7% over twelve months. In current prices, that is, without adjusting for inflation, gross domestic product gains 1.4% over the quarter.
Month by month, the ONS reports growth of 0.4% in July, none in August (revised down from 0.1%) and 0.2% in September.
Services in the lead
According to the ONS, the rise comes mainly from services (+0.9%), particularly those aimed at businesses. Production gains 0.1%, while construction falls 0.7%. The BBC adds that computer programming recorded its strongest growth in three years, driven by cloud computing and spending linked to artificial intelligence. Sarah Coles, of the investment platform AJ Bell, observes that administrative and support services, which benefit from growing use of AI, also contributed.
Economists' caveats
Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, considers it possible that growth would have been stronger without the ongoing war in the Middle East. He also notes that households may not feel better off and that prices may soon rise faster than wages. Jake Finney, of the firm PwC, considers a slowdown in growth likely in the coming months if energy markets do not stabilise, and mentions a sharp rise in energy bills expected in January.
Why it matters
A first estimate is not final: the ONS points out that, since 2000, the average gap between the first publication and the final version, established three years later, is 0.27 percentage points in absolute terms. The 0.7% figure therefore remains provisional. The next ONS bulletin is dated 22 December.