UK economy grew by 7.5% in 2021, the fastest rate since 2nd world war

A recent report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that UK's economy grew by 7.5 per cent last year, after falling back in December due to the Omicron variant.

This comes as the fastest annual growth rate since the second world war.

As per ONS, the output fell by 0.2 per cent in December. Also, a record number of job vacancies decelerated the economy. This comes after the UK had gone through a fall in the GDP by 9.4 per cent in 2020.

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ONS economist Darren Morgan, in a report by CGTN, said, "Despite December's setback, GDP grew robustly across the fourth quarter as a whole with the NHS (National Health Service), couriers and employment agencies all helping to support the economy."

Rishi Sunak attributed the economy's resilience to the Treasury’s £400 billion package of support and “making the right calls at the right time."

“I’m proud of the resolve the whole country has demonstrated and proud of our incredible vaccine programme, which has allowed the economy to stay open," he added.

Earlier in January, the ONS claimed that an increase in restaurant bookings and a quick turnaround in building output were also factors in the expansion, which lifted the economy's size by 0.7 per cent above its March 2020 level.

City economists predicted a 0.4 per cent expansion and that November would be a high point in 2021.

Another factor driving the rise in GDP, according to the ONS, was the continued expansion of health services as a proportion of economic activity.

(With inputs from agencies)