Services drove the eighth consecutive quarter of expansion, though monthly growth slowed sharply to 0.1% in August with construction contracting.
Real UK GDP grew by 0.7 per cent in the three months to August 2026 compared with the three months to May, according to the Office for National Statistics — the eighth consecutive three-month-on-three-month increase. Services output led the way, rising 0.9 per cent over the same period and making the largest single contribution to overall growth.
The monthly picture was more mixed. August’s GDP grew by just 0.1 per cent, a sharp slowdown compared with 0.4 per cent in both June and July. Production output drove that modest August gain, rising 0.8 per cent on the month. But services showed no monthly growth at all, and construction fell by 0.2 per cent.
The figures also brought upward revisions to earlier data. Growth in both the three months to July and the three months to June was revised up to 0.5 per cent from the previously reported 0.4 per cent. Quarterly data for April to June 2026 was similarly revised to 0.5 per cent real GDP growth, up from 0.4 per cent, following 0.6 per cent growth in the January to March quarter.
The ONS cautions that monthly GDP estimates can change as additional data arrives. The figures describe aggregate UK output and don’t show how growth was distributed across households, businesses, or individual regions.
Source: @ONS