Britain’s economy grew 0.3% in November, better than forecasts
The UK economy grew a faster-than-expected 0.3% in November after a rebound in car production and a boost to the services sector.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the growth was driven by an increase in industrial output, helped by the return of production at Jaguar Land Rover facilities following a cyber attack on the carmaker.
Following the budget on November 26, activities such as accounting and tax consultancy drove an increase in services.
Economists said they expect to see moderately positive economic growth in the last three months of 2025 and the new year.
November’s growth figure was stronger than analysts’ expectations of a 0.1% increase.
Businesses in the construction, industrial production and services sectors told the ONS in November that they were waiting to see the results of the autumn budget before making a decision.
Monthly GDP figures are more volatile than three consecutive months of figures, which are considered to give a better underlying picture of growth.
The ONS said the economy grew.
The ONS said the economy grew 0.1% in the three months to November compared with the previous three months.
Suren Thiru, economics director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said the “unexpectedly positive” November data showed most sectors had “shaken off the pre-budget uncertainty.”
“The November surge means it is inevitable that the UK economy will grow modestly in the final quarter of 2025 and reduced post-budget uncertainty is likely to support growth in December, with the ‘super flu’ disrupting activity in sectors such as education,” he said.
Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said the data showed economic activity had picked up despite budget uncertainty.
Despite “relatively low consumer sentiment”, he said there were tentative signs of an increase in household spending.
“With the worst of the uncertainty behind businesses, we expect the growth momentum to continue in the coming months,” Selfin said.
KPMG expects the UK economy to expand in the last three months of 2025, and Selfin said it looks like there will be positive growth in the first three months of this year “driven mainly by business investment and government spending”.
Construction output fell 1.3% in November, and the ONS said the sector also recorded “its biggest three-month decline in almost three years”.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief economist at Capital Economics, said the decline in construction was likely due to “unseasonably wet weather” and was likely to increase again in December.
However, Gregory said the increase in services output was “a little more than a reversal of the big decline over the past few months”.
“So we think the November strength is more likely to be a rebound rather than a sign that the economy is fundamentally stronger than we thought,” he said.
Deutsche Bank chief UK economist Sanjay Raja said the economic data should “raise the bar” for the Bank of England to cut interest rates in February.
“The economy is now in a stronger position than expected and the pace of rate cuts is likely to slow,” he said.
Part of the rebound came from continued growth in production at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which led to a 25.5% increase in motor vehicle output in November.
JLR was forced to halt production at its plants across the UK for the whole of September following the cyberattack. Production resumed in a phased manner in October.
A Treasury spokesperson said the government was making the economy “work for working people” through “reversing years of underinvestment” in infrastructure, as well as planning reform.
The spokesperson said the government was working to reduce bills and inflation but admitted there was still more to be done to tackle the cost of living.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said the figures showed economic growth was “still stagnant”.
He said, “The Chancellor promised growth as his number one mission, but the failure to hold down benefit bills – and taxing them instead – is taking a toll on business and the economy.”
