UK economy shrinks 0.3% in October

(Sharecast News) - The UK economy unexpectedly shrank in October, with all three sectors contracting, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. The economy shrank 0.3% following 0.2% growth in September and versus expectations for a flat performance. Over the last quarter, GDP was unchanged.

ONS director of economic statistics, Darren Morgan, said: "Our initial estimates suggest that GDP growth was flat across the last three months.

"Increases in services, led by engineering, film production and education - which recovered from the impact of summer strikes - were offset by falls in both manufacturing and housebuilding.

"October, however, saw contractions across all three main sectors. Services were the biggest driver of the fall with drops in IT, legal firms and film production - which fell back after a couple of strong months.

"These were also compounded by widespread falls in manufacturing and construction, which fell partly due to the poor weather."