Surprise good news for the UK
Key Points
- UK GDP grew 0.1% in May 2026, reversing April's 0.1% fall
- Scientific research and development, up 5.1%, was the biggest single driver of growth
- GDP grew 0.7% in the three months to May, the sixth consecutive three month expansion
- Consumer facing services recovered 0.5%, led by retail trade up 1.2%
- Businesses blamed the Iran conflict for supply chain disruption and reduced output
The UK economy grew by 0.1% in May 2026, reversing April’s 0.1% fall, data published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday (16 July) shows.
Services drove the recovery, growing 0.3% on the month, while production fell 0.5% and construction dropped 0.8%.
The monthly bounce keeps the broader trend intact, with GDP growing 0.7% in the three months to May compared with the three months to February.
That marks the sixth consecutive period of three-month on three-month growth, following expansions of 0.8% in the three months to April and 0.6% in the three months to March. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the economy stands 1.3% larger.
Scientific research and development provided the single largest contribution to growth in May, expanding 5.1% to reach its highest level since June 2025. The ONS attributed the surge primarily to strength in medical sciences research, which added 0.06 percentage points to overall GDP growth.
Professional, scientific and technical activities as a whole grew 1.8%, with advertising and market research up 3.2% for a sixth consecutive month of growth.
Information and communication dragged in the opposite direction, contracting 0.5% after six months of growth. Falls of 3.3% in film, TV and music production and 1.2% in telecommunications drove the decline.
“The economy recorded robust growth in the three months to May, though the pace eased slightly as the latest two months showed a weaker picture,” said ONS’ Director of Economic Statistics, Liz McKeown.
“Services drove growth across the three months with computer programming and advertising again leading the way, while the often volatile pharmaceutical industry also performed well.”
The impact of Iran
Households may also see relief at the pump. The ONS noted that automotive fuel prices started falling in June in response to significantly lower global oil prices, though demand for fuel continued to weaken.
The labour market showed tentative signs of improvement, with potential redundancies in June falling from May’s exceptionally high level and coming in slightly below the same month a year earlier.
Businesses across manufacturing, wholesale, transport, accommodation and entertainment told the ONS that the conflict in Iran, which began at the end of February, reduced their output in May. Among trading businesses, 5% reported global supply chain disruption during the month, and half of those blamed the Middle East.
The picture for June looks less certain. Retail footfall fell as heatwave conditions disrupted public transport and prompted advice not to travel, and UK flight numbers dipped slightly on the month.
New car and van registrations bucked the trend, rising on both the month and the year on the back of continued growth in electric vehicle registrations.
The ONS revised April’s three-month growth figure up from 0.7% to 0.8% in this release, largely because of stronger survey data in the information and communication sector.
The next monthly GDP estimate, covering June 2026, arrives alongside retail sales figures later this summer, with the retail release due on 24 July.
