Economy grew by 0.3% in November – Industry reaction

Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has shown that the economy grew by 0.3% in November, marking the fastest growth since the 0.4% recorded in April.

Analysts had been expecting monthly GDP growth of just 0.1%. The growth was driven by a return to production at Jaguar Land Rover and strong performance in the tech sector. . Output in the services sector also grew by more than expected in November, rising by 0.3 per cent.

ONS Director of Economic Statistics, Liz McKeown, said “The economy grew slightly in the latest three months, led by growth in the services sector, which performed better in November following a weak October.

“This was partially offset by a fall in manufacturing, where three-monthly growth was still affected by the cyber incident that impacted car production earlier in the Autumn. However, data for the latest month show that this industry has now largely recovered. Construction contracted again, registering its largest three-monthly fall in nearly three years.”

Anna Leach, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors, said “GDP growth recorded a welcome uptick in November, lifting quarterly growth to 0.1%. A strong recovery in the manufacturing of motor vehicles following the JLR shut-down helped lift growth in manufacturing output. However, the underlying picture remains fragile, with signs that pre-Budget uncertainty dampened demand and slowed growth towards the end of last year. Supports for growth remain precarious in both services and manufacturing with only half of the subsectors posting growth. After a strong September, consumer-services output fell in both October and November, while construction output dropped dramatically in November.

“As the new year begins, there is some hope that policy uncertainty may diminish over the year. In particular, we head towards the Spring Statement with a larger buffer against the fiscal rules which will not be assessed this time round. But recent policy reversals – even when welcome – ferment their own uncertainty. In 2026, we need to get policy decisions right the first time and push harder in those areas which will deliver the strongest growth payoffs. Today’s approval by Heathrow’s board for the airport’s expansion plans must be matched by swifter progress on planning reform. Upgrading the UK’s ageing infrastructure and unlocking the government’s public investment commitments will be critical to supporting growth and lifting productivity.”

Mike Randall, CEO at Simply Asset Finance, says: “As the scales tip back in the favour of growth, there are early positive signs last year’s Budget did little to quell business resilience. 2026 is now a critical opportunity to supercharge business ambitions; this means not only removing the hurdles in their way, but actively giving them the funding they need to unlock productivity and drive genuine national growth.

“It is encouraging that pieces are already at play, such as the British Business Bank’s financial capacity increasing to £25.6 billion, and the expanded capacity of the ENABLE scheme, which will be critical in getting money to the firms that need it most. The proof point will be in seeing this capital deployed effectively and translating directly into tangible success stories for UK SMEs.”

Suren Thiru, ICAEW Economics Director, said “These figures confirm an unexpectedly upbeat November for the economy, as most sectors seemingly shrugged off pre-Budget uncertainty, though were flattered somewhat by the uplift to manufacturing from Jaguar Land Rover’s return to production.

“November’s uptick means it’s inevitable that the UK economy grew modestly across the final quarter of 2025 with easing uncertainty post-Budget likely to have supported growth in December, despite the ‘super flu’ disrupting activity in sectors like education.

“This return to growth probably won’t trigger a sustained economic revival with softer consumer spending amid an intensifying tax burden and higher unemployment likely to mean noticeably weaker growth for 2026, despite a boost from lower inflation.

“These figures make a February interest rate cut less likely by giving those rate-setters still concerned over inflation with sufficient comfort over economic conditions to delay voting to ease policy again.”