By Marcus Leach
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that the UK economy grew by 0.8% in the third quarter of the year.
The latest confirmation of GDP growth is a further boost to the nation's continued recovery.
The latest data means that the UK economy is now 2.5% below the peak of output before the downturn, whilst he service sector has fully recovered and is now 0.4% above its pre-downturn level, but manufacturing is 8.9% below it and construction is 12.5% lower.
"This shows that Britain's hard work is paying off and the country is on the path to prosperity," Chancellor George Osborne said on Twitter.
Peter Hemington, Partner, BDO LLP, commented: “Today’s figures are encouraging and chime with our own data which captures UK business’ confidence and points towards growth of around 2.5 per cent for Q4, indicating that the UK economy is gearing up for a strong finish to 2013.
"What’s especially welcome is that we’re seeing strong business performance across both services and manufacturing sectors, which demonstrates that the recovery has taken root throughout the economy.
“The concern amidst the encouraging numbers is that real incomes are still very low and wage growth still very weak. It’s good to see rising business and consumer confidence but incomes and buying power will need to improve. Home-owners should benefit from the revival of the UK housing market, but obviously the growing minority of consumers who are not home-owners will not.
“However we’re pleased to see that the UK’s economic recovery appears to be belatedly taking hold.”
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