The economy grew 0.4% between April and June, down from 0.6% at the start of the year — a slowdown in the pace of expansion, but not a contraction.

The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2026, covering April to June, according to the first quarterly estimate from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published on 13 August. That is slower than the 0.6% growth recorded in the first quarter, and it points to an economy that lost some momentum through the spring, even as it continued to expand.

The central fact deserves emphasis because it is easily misstated: the economy did not shrink. Growth of 0.4% means output was higher at the end of the quarter than at the start, just rising less quickly than before. A slowdown in the rate of growth is a very different thing from a contraction, in which output would actually fall.

Slower growth is not a shrinking economy

The distinction between decelerating growth and outright decline is fundamental to understanding Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures. When quarterly growth eases from 0.6% to 0.4%, the economy is still getting bigger; the pace of that expansion has simply moderated. Only a negative reading would signal that the economy had contracted.

GDP measures the total value of goods and services produced. A rise, however small, means more was produced than in the previous period. The 0.4% figure therefore describes continued, if gentler, growth — a nuance that matters greatly for how the economic picture is characterised and one that headlines about the economy losing pace can easily obscure.

Where the growth came from

The expansion in the second quarter was led by the services sector, which grew 0.5% and accounts for the largest share of the UK economy. Construction added to growth with a 0.3% rise, while production was flat, registering no growth over the quarter. The composition shows an economy still being carried by services while other sectors were broadly static.

Within the quarter, the monthly path was uneven. Output edged down 0.1% in April, was flat in May — revised down from an initial estimate of 0.1% growth — and rose 0.3% in June. That pattern, weak at the start and stronger at the end, sits behind the 0.4% quarterly figure and gives a sense of how activity moved through the spring.

Output per person

GDP per head, which divides total output by the population and offers a rough guide to living standards, grew 0.4% in the second quarter and was 1.0% higher than a year earlier. Because the population changes over time, GDP per head can move differently from total GDP, and it is often regarded as a more meaningful gauge of whether individuals are, on average, better off.

That per-head measure rising over the year suggests output has been growing a little faster than the population, at least on this estimate. It is a modest improvement rather than a strong one, consistent with the overall impression of an economy expanding slowly.

A first estimate, with caveats

This is a first quarterly estimate, produced relatively soon after the period it covers and based on the data available at the time. Such early readings are routinely revised as more complete information is gathered, so the 0.4% figure could change in subsequent releases. On this occasion the ONS made no revisions to previously published GDP data, in line with its national accounts revisions policy.

Alongside the quarterly numbers, the ONS reported that nominal GDP — output measured in cash terms, before adjusting for Inflation — rose 4.1% over the year, while real GDP was 1.2% higher than in the same quarter of 2025. The gap between the nominal and real figures reflects the effect of inflation, and keeping the two distinct is essential to avoid overstating the real growth in the economy.

What it means

For the wider economy, growth of 0.4% is neither a boom nor a downturn. It signals an economy that is still moving forward but has shifted down a gear from the start of the year. Slower growth can eventually feed into other areas — from the public finances to the labour market, where payrolls and vacancies have both been easing — but the second-quarter figure on its own is a description of the recent past, not a forecast.

The verified position is that the UK economy grew 0.4% between April and June, down from 0.6% in the first quarter; that services led the expansion while production was flat; and that this was a slowdown in growth rather than a contraction. What the pace of growth does next is not something these figures can determine, and any expectation of further slowing or a pick-up is interpretation rather than fact contained in the data.

What GDP measures, and what it misses

Gross domestic product is the standard yardstick for the size of an economy, but it is worth being clear about what the number does and does not tell us. It sums the value of goods and services produced over a period, which makes it a broad measure of economic activity. It is not a direct measure of wellbeing, of how evenly the proceeds of growth are shared, or of the sustainability of that growth, and a rising GDP can coexist with pressures that people feel keenly in daily life.

The quarterly figure is also a snapshot of a three-month window, capturing the change from the previous quarter rather than the level of activity. A single quarter's growth can be shaped by temporary factors — the timing of public holidays, unusual weather, or one-off events — so a slowdown from 0.6% to 0.4% is best read alongside the surrounding quarters rather than as a decisive break. Revisions matter here too: as a first estimate, the 0.4% figure rests on the data available soon after the quarter closed, and later releases can move it up or down. On this occasion the ONS left earlier data unrevised, but the latest quarter remains subject to change. The prudent reading is that the economy grew, that its pace eased, and that the precise figure may yet be refined. For most people, the difference between 0.4% and 0.6% will be imperceptible; what registers is whether jobs, prices and pay are moving in their favour, and on those measures the picture remains mixed.