Restaurants suffered a sharp drop in activity, manufacturers reported zero growth, and output in the construction industry collapsed in October at the fastest rate since the first wave of Covid-19 last year.
Even before the emergence of the coronavirus Omicron variant, Britain’s economy was displaying worrying signs of weakness that are hard to ignore. According to the latest official figures for October, gross domestic product barely rose on the month, with an unexpectedly sluggish 0.1% growth rate.
Suggesting the rapid recovery from lockdown risked stalling entirely amid supply constraints and a dwindling of consumer appetite, activity in the food and beverage sector fell by 7.5%, while construction slumped by 1.8%.
Worse is yet to come.
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