Britain’s economic recovery had almost come to a halt even before the onset of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, official figures have shown.
The Office for National Statistics said in October – the first month after the end of the government’s furlough scheme – output grew by only 0.1%.
The slight monthly rise in gross domestic product was weaker than had been anticipated, with a poll of economists having expected growth of 0.4%. In September the economy grew by 0.6%.
A breakdown of the data showed signs of a sharp drop in people going to restaurants, pubs and bars even before tougher curbs were brought in this month. Gross domestic product was still 0.5% below its pre-crisis peak in February 2020 at the end of October.
Of the three main
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