productivity

Britain’s economy grew 0.4% in July, beating forecasts for flat growth, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, with services output providing the main boost. GDP also grew 0.4% in the three months to July compared with the three months to April, driven mainly by a 0.6% rise in services output.
It was the eighth consecutive three-month-on-three-month growth period, following 0.4% growth in the three months to June and 0.6% growth in the three months to May.
Production output fell 0.5% in the three months to July, following no growth in the three months to June. Construction output also fell 0.5%, reversing 0.3% growth in the three months to June.
On a monthly basis, GDP grew 0.4% in July, following 0.3% growth in June and no growth in May. July growth came from rises of 0.4% in services, 0.2% in production and 0.1% in construction, the ONS said.
Within services, the largest positive contributions in the three months to July came from professional, scientific and technical activities, which rose 2.1%, driven by growth in scientific research and development, legal activities, and advertising and market research.
Information and communication rose 2.5%, mainly driven by a 4.4% increase in computer programming, consultancy and related activities.
Administrative and support service activities rose 1.3%, driven by rental and leasing activities and services to buildings and landscape activities.
The largest negative contributions to services came from wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which fell 0.5%, driven by a 3% decline in wholesale trade, and education, which fell 0.3%, driven by a decline in non-market education that the ONS linked to school closures during heatwave conditions in June.
The production sector’s three-month contraction reflected declines in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, down 4.0%; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, down 1.5%; and mining and quarrying, down 2.6%. These were partially offset by 0.5% growth in manufacturing.
In construction, both new work and repair and maintenance fell over the three-month period, down 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Within new work, the largest negative contribution came from public housing new work, which fell 8.4%.
In repair and maintenance, the largest negative contribution came from private housing repair and maintenance, down 1.7%.
Real GDP grew 1.3% in the three months to July compared with the same three months a year ago, with services up 1.7% and production up 0.5%, while construction fell 2.3%. GDP is estimated to be 1.6% higher in July 2026 compared with the same month a year ago.
The ONS said there are no periods open for revision in this release. The full time series will be open for revision in the next release on Oct. 15, 2026, incorporating Blue Book 2026 and the quarterly national accounts release due Sept. 30, 2026
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