UK economy 'inevitably' slows in October and may take years to recover to pre-pandemic levels

October GDP growth slows to 0.4%

UK economic growth experienced an “inevitable” weakening in October, slowing from 1.1% in September to just 0.4% as the coronavirus dealt another blow to the hospitality sector.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the accommodation and food service sector acted "as a large drag on growth in October as tightening coronavirus measures had an adverse impact on trade and a subsequent lack of demand". Growth in this sector fell by 14.4%, making a negative contribution of 0.37 percentage points to overall GDP growth. However, all other sectors experienced positive growth. On the positive side, despite the slowing growth, October marks the sixth consecutive month of positive GDP growth since the record fall of 19.5% in April. 'Undoubtedly worry...