British economy shrinks unexpectedly
Britain’s gross domestic product suffered another decline in the third quarter of 2009, figures showed Friday, meaning the country remains mired in recession.
GDP decreased 0.4% in the third quarter, according to preliminary estimates from Britain’s Office of National Statistics.
Some analysts had expected Friday’s GDP figures to show the recession in Britain was over.
The British economy officially entered recession in January after two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, which is the traditional definition of a recession.
For the third quarter of 2009, statistics showed the biggest declines occurred in the hotel and restaurant industry, which fell by 1%; construction, which decreased by 1.1%; and agriculture, forestry and fishing, which declined by 1.6%.
There was zero growth in government and other services — a marginal increase from the previous quarter — with the health industry making the largest contribution to that figure, statistics showed.