The UK economy showed no growth in the last quarter, according to the revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The previous estimate for July and September said the economy grew by 0.1%.
Early estimates show that real GDP per head fell by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2024, and is 0.2% lower compared with the same quarter a year ago.
The UK and Italy had the lowest growth in the G7 in the third quarter, both flatlining.
The slight growth initially recorded last month was already slower than what had been expected by experts and marked a drop from the 0.4% growth between April and June.
Bars and restaurants, legal firms and advertising performed “less well”, the director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said on Monday.
“The household saving ratio fell a little in the latest period, though remains relatively high by historic standards,” she added.
“Meanwhile, real household disposable income per head showed no growth.”
The ONS also revised down its growth reading for the second quarter of 2024, to 0.4%. In September, it said it thought GDP had increased by 0.5%, which was a reduction from previous estimates.
More bad news – and could it get worse?
It’s more bad economic news for the country and for Labour, of course.
A government that used to say it wanted the fastest growth in the G7 is now languishing at the bottom of that league table in its first quarter in government.
And the Bank of England just last week revised its forecast (post-budget) to say that there would be no growth from October to December.
If that were the case, we’d end up with half a year of no growth.
The chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose budget has been criticised by business leaders, said the challenge to “fix our economy” is “huge”.
After “15 years of neglect” – referring to the previous Tory government – she said the problems are “fuelling our fire to deliver for working people”.
“The budget and our plan for change will deliver sustainable long-term growth, putting more money in people’s pockets through increased investment and relentless reform,” she added.
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Shadow culture secretary Stuart Andrew described the latest figures as “really disappointing”.
He told Sky News “We’re seeing these really worrying signs that sort of the warning signs are on really for the economy”.
“They have to have a think about this again, the increases in national insurance has made a significant impact,” he said – though the data covers a period before the budget was announced.
“Clearly people’s confidence in the growth of the economy has gone, and so they really need to think about the disastrous decisions they made in the budget.”