Britain has slumped back into recession, official figures just released show.
The economy shrank by 0.2% in the first three months of this year. Coming after the contraction of 0.3% in the last three months of 2011, this technically puts the country back into recession.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was a sharp 3% fall in construction output, the biggest fall for three years, between January and March.
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.
The economy shrunk by 7.1% in the 2008-2009 recession and recovery since has been weak.
Today’s ONS data shows the economy has only grown by just 0.4% since the Government took office two years ago.
Output in Britain's service sector – which makes up more than three quarters of GDP – rose by just 0.1% in the first quarter after falling 0.1% in the final three months of last year.
Industrial output was 0.4% lower. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts growth this year of 0.8%.
