UK Economy Grew 0.4 Per Cent in Three Months to July 2026

Official ONS figures show GDP held steady at 0.4 per cent growth for the second consecutive rolling quarter, with services rising 0.6 per cent while both production and construction fell 0.5 per cent.

The UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the three months to July 2026, the Office for National Statistics confirmed — matching the 0.4 per cent recorded in the three months to June 2026. The figures show growth was entirely driven by services, which rose 0.6 per cent over the same period, while production and construction each fell 0.5 per cent.

So the headline number looks stable, but the detail tells a more uneven story. Two of the economy’s three main sectors contracted over the period, meaning services output alone carried the overall result.

For Kent, there’s no county-level GDP figure in the ONS release — the data covers the UK as a whole. But the sectoral split matters locally. Kent businesses in services, retail, hospitality and logistics may find the figures broadly positive, while firms in manufacturing, industrial production or construction may view the back-to-back 0.5 per cent falls as a warning sign worth watching. The data is also relevant to economic planning by Kent County Council and district councils, which use national indicators to inform local investment decisions.

The ONS publishes these monthly GDP estimates on a rolling three-month basis, smoothing out single-month volatility to give a broader picture of economic direction. Whether the services sector can continue to offset weakness in goods-producing industries will be the question for subsequent releases.