People going shopping remained one of the biggest factors in the growth of Britain’s economy at the end of last year
The economic recovery is relying heavily on services companies and household demand amid a sharp fall in business investment and a drag from declining exports. Consumer spending rose 0.7 percent between October and December helped by near-zero inflation and steady, though unspectacular, wage growth for British workers.
“Once again, the buoyancy of the services sector has offset the relative sluggishness of the rest of the UK economy,” ONS (Office for National Statistics) chief economist Joe Grice said. The ONS said GDP was up 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter, and for 2015 as a whole Britain’s economy grew 2.2 percent.
