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The UK economy shrank in both March and April, the first consecutive monthly decline since the start of the COVID-19 blockade two years ago.
According to the latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS), GDP fell by 0.1% in March 2022 and then by 0.3% in April 2022.
ONS said it was the first time GDP had fallen for the second straight month since the first outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus outbreak and the economic plunge in March and April 2020.
“The end of the test-and-trace scheme pushed the UK economy into a negative territory in April,” said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at ONS.
ONS believes that the decline in GDP in April was primarily due to a 0.3% decline in services due to the termination of the government’s COVID-19 test and trace program and reduced vaccination activity.
According to ONS, GDP should have risen 0.1% in April once the effects of testing and tracing and vaccines were removed.
According to Morgan, manufacturing also suffered from some companies that told ONS that they were also affected by rising fuel and energy prices, but these were significantly slower than normal March in car sales. It was partially offset by the elongation.
Production in April 2022 decreased by 0.6%. This was due to a 1.0% decrease in manufacturing that month. Construction also declined by 0.4%, following strong growth in March 2022, followed by significant repair and maintenance activities following the storm that occurred in late February 2022.
According to ONS, this is the first time that all major sectors have made a negative contribution to monthly GDP estimates since January 2021.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“I want to reassure people. We are committed to growing the economy to meet long-term living costs while supporting the imminent pressures facing families and businesses. I’m pouring. “
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said negative economic data has resulted in a “rising inflation price” that the country “overcomes very strongly.”
Talking to reporters about his visit to Cornwall, he emphasized “very strong” fundamentals and low unemployment.
But Labor leader Sir Kiel Starmer called the latest numbers “the real cause of concern for millions of people who are already struggling to pay invoices.”
He said the conservatives “have no contact or thought.”
PA Media contributed to this report.
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