Decline in British economy sharper than expected
The economy suffered a steeper decline than expected during the last quarter of 2008, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures reveal that gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 1.6% during the last three months of the year, despite the ONS predicting it would decline by 1.5%. This was the largest decrease in GDP since the second quarter of 1980. The most significant falls in output were in the manufacturing and construction sectors, both of which saw output fall by 4.9% in the last quarter of 2008.
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http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/qna0309.pdf
