Giving a strong signal that the UK is entering a recession, the Office for National Statistics said manufacturing declined by 1.6% while the cost of living crisis appeared to hit hotels, restaurants and the leisure industry.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to zero growth in August rather than a 0.3% decline.
The decline in gross domestic product (GDP) was also 0.3% over the three months to August, indicating that an increase of 0.1% in July was a blip and mostly caused by a modest rebound from the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations.
Read more at The Guardian
