According to the latest report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the service sector grew by 1.9% in March, the production sector by 1.8%, while manufacturing grew for a second consecutive month by 2.1%. Overall, GDP is estimated to have grown by 2.1% in March 2021 with the reopening of schools in parts of the UK, the fastest growth seen since August 2020, figures show.

The construction sector grew by 5.8%, driven by growth in new work, repair and maintenance. GDP remains 5.9% below the levels seen in February 2020 and 1.1% below the initial recovery level in October 2020.

But Afford Bond Associate Director, Ben Edwards said: “March’s figures look healthy enough and the ‘build back better’ campaign is definitely off to a good start, but in reality, it wasn’t enough to stop the UK economy contracting over the first quarter as a whole. However, with businesses getting ‘back to normal’ in the office, and new ways of working, we hope to see the upward trend continue.”

The ONS added: “The quarterly contraction of 1.5% was due to the lockdown affecting much of the services sector. We also revised January and February’s GDP figures from -2.2% to -2.5%, and 0.4% to 0.7% respectively.”

If you need expert tax advice, business guidance or corporate finance, please use the Contact Us form on our website https://www.affordbond.co.uk/contact or call Ben Edwards at our Nantwich Accountants office T: 01270 623731 or Tom Hornbuckle at our Wilmslow Accountants on T: 01625 416380.