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Economy grows by 0.1% in 3 months to November

ended 15. January 2026

THE UK ECONOMY grew by 0.1% in the three months to November 2025, compared with the three months to August 2025, after showing no growth in the three months to October (revised up from a fall of 0.1%) and an unrevised growth of 0.1% in the three months to September 2025.

Services output increased by 0.2%, after rising by 0.1% in the three months to October 2025 (revised up from showing no growth).

Production output fell by 0.1%, largely because of a fall in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers in this period; the fall in the three months to November follows a fall of 0.1% in the three months to October 2025 (revised up from a fall of 0.5% in our previous publication).

Construction output fell by 1.1%, following a fall of 0.3% in the three months to October 2025; this continues a pattern of slowing growth in the three-monthly measure since May 2025 and is the lowest reading in the three-monthly growth since March 2023.

Meanwhile, in November, monthly GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.3%, following an unrevised fall of 0.1% in October 2025 and growth of 0.1% in September 2025 (revised up from an initial estimate of a fall of 0.1%). Services grew by 0.3%, production grew by 1.1%, and construction fell by 1.3% in November 2025.

ANY thoughts on this latest snapshot of the UK economy, send them across.

6 responses from the Newspage community

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On paper, the UK economy has technically grown but for households and businesses, it doesn’t feel like it. These GDP figures are tweaked and revised almost every month, which does little to build public confidence, much like the constant policy U-turns we’ve seen from the government in recent weeks. A 0.1% rise over three months is hardly a sign of a strong or growing economy, especially when construction output is falling sharply and manufacturing remains under pressure. For many people, costs are still high, confidence is fragile and day-to-day finances remain stretched. From a mortgage and rates perspective, this kind of weak, uneven growth supports the case for interest rates to fall gradually rather than stay higher for longer. But it also underlines why borrowers shouldn’t expect dramatic cuts overnight. The economy is bumping along, not booming and mortgage rates are likely to reflect that cautious reality rather than the headline figures alone.
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This is the economic version of treading water — not sinking but not moving forward either. Services growth of 0.2% is soft by historical standards, so it doesn’t give households much to feel confident about. The construction decline is another confidence signal - it usually means projects are being paused or that there’s hesitancy to commit to longer term spending. It feels like the UK economy is stuck in a low gear.
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While growth of 0.3% in November is encouraging, the drag from construction is a major concern. The government's housing target is increasingly looking like a pipe dream. The housebuilding sector simply isn't delivering the homes it needs to help more people get on the ladder.
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It's probably quite relevant to juxtapose the UK's growth to the US' in the 3 months leading to September.

Theirs was 4.3%.

Ours 0.3%.

Germany is in a similarly dire situation, with 0% growth for the last quarter.

What's going on in Europe?

Likely we can point to a completely bloated government where European nations keep adding more and more useless public sector workers who are a drain on the private, tax paying, sector.

We can point to the drain of net zero which drives up energy costs.

And we can point to the general problem of vibes based policy making where there is no further thought about the effects of said policies than 'this sounds good.'

Indentured into the UK is the problem with politicians not being very bright, and for all of the problems with America, it's difficult to argue they aren't an economic powerhouse once again in comparison.

'Be kind' style policies have scammed multiple generations out of prosperity.
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These GDP figures reveal what economists are missing: the UK's worst-performing sectors are sitting on productivity gains they refuse to unlock. Construction fell 1.1%, its worst reading since March 2023, yet firms using AI properly cut risk assessments from 157 minutes to 36 minutes, and bid prep from three weeks to three days. Manufacturing wobbled whilst automotive achieves 60% AI adoption with 30% downtime reductions. The disconnect? Only 20% of built environment firms have AI policies, fewer than one in three train staff. Meanwhile mid-sized companies with strategy and training are widening the competitive gap. Services grew because they're investing in collaborative intelligence. The laggards? 80% of construction workers use ChatGPT without training: shadow AI, panic prompting, zero governance and leadership. This anaemic growth is self-inflicted. The AI technology can deliver. The appetite for reform cannot. How much GDP are we sacrificing to half-baked or absent AI projects.
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Though there was some respectable growth in November, a month of uncertainty given the Budget, the fly in the ointment is the weakness of the construction sector. More than anything this country needs more homes, and they simply aren't being delivered at the pace and scale they need to be.