Three cheers for services! Now get back to work UK
The UK economy is still 1.3 per cent smaller than it was before the Latest Great Global Recession (or whatever you want to call it) came along and ruined everything back in 2008. At least that’s what the Office for National Statistics estimated at the end of last year.
But most of us, certainly blogging journalists, work in the service sector – and happily we now know that this engine of the economy has soared back above its previous peak and is set to reach new heights in the coming months. Touch wood.
What’s more, the services-driven recovery is being steered by the private sector – which is somewhat reassuring, given the government’s ever-expanding £1.25 trillion debt pile.
Here are the crucial stats, released by the ONS this morning:
- In November 2013, total services output was 1.3 per cent above its level in the first quarter of 2008
- Since August 2009, a measure of services that the ONS defines as “mainly private sector” has averaged 0.5 per cent growth per quarter. Total services averaged 0.4 per cent per quarter.
What basically happened is this – during the recession, private sector services dropped heavily, while government sector services were less affected. But since then, the recovery is being increasingly driven by the private sector bounceback, as shown on the graph below.
Why is this important? Well the service sector is largely responsible for the 1.9 per cent growth estimated for the UK last year, as shown in the final three bars of this chart:
So there we have it: the “invisibles” part of the economy is here to save the day, to finally push UK output above and beyond its previous previous peak.
But not if you all sit around reading blogs. Come on, chop chop, back to your desks.