The ONS reported that UK real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have increased by +0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025 (October to December), following growth of +0.1% in the third quarter.
GDP is estimated to have risen by +1.0% in Q4 2025 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. For 2025 as a whole, GDP grew by +1.3%, following growth of +1.1% in 2024.
On an output basis, growth in the latest quarter was driven by a +1.2% increase in production, while the construction sector declined by -2.1% and the services sector recorded no growth.
The rise in production output in the latest quarter was mainly due to growth of +0.9% in manufacturing (covered in more detail in the “UK Manufacturing Output” article in this newsletter), and an increase of +3.1% in “electricity, gas, steam & air conditioning supply”. “Mining & quarrying” (up by +1.4%) and “water supply; sewerage, waste management & remediation activities” (up by +0.7%) also expanded in Q4.
Services output showed no growth in Q4, following an increase of +0.2% in Q3, with 8 of the 14 services subsectors making positive contributions. The largest positive contributor was the “administrative & support services” subsector, which rose by +1.2%. The next largest contributions came from “public administration & defence” (+0.5%), “information & communication” (+0.4%), and “human health & social work activities” (+0.2%). The largest negative contributor in Q4 was “professional, scientific & technical activities”, which declined by -1.1%.
Construction output is estimated to have fallen by -2.1% in Q4, following growth of +0.4% in the previous quarter. “Repair & maintenance” decreased by -1.5%, while “new work” fell by -2.6% over the period. Within “repair & maintenance”, the largest negative contribution came from “private housing repair & maintenance”, down by -2.9%. In “new work”, the largest negative contributor was “private housing new work”, which declined by -3.6%. Further detail is available in the range of ONS Statistical Bulletins, which can be downloaded from the ONS website at https://www.ons.gov.uk/releasecalendar (12th February) or on request from MTA.