THE economy barely grew last month, according to official figures.
New figures released by The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was up just slightly.
Monthly GDP is estimated to have grown by 0.1% in August 2025, following a fall of 0.1% in July 2025.
The latest reading was said to be boosted by demand for business rental and leasing services and also healthcare.
However it was offset by a lack of output from consumer facing roles, such as travel agents and tour operators.
The slight boost for the UK economy comes ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves Autumn Budget on November 26.
Reeves is expected to raise taxes, but businesses have cautioned the move could harm economic growth.
Figures released today show real-GDP grew by 0.3% in the three months to August 2025 compared with the three months to May 2025.
This measure is inflation-adjusted and aims to reflects the value of all goods and services produced by an economy in a given year.
Meanwhile, monthly GDP is an estimate of the value of all final goods and services produced within a specific month.
GDP is one of the main indicators used to measure the performance of a country’s economy.
When it goes up, it means the economy is doing well. When it falls, it means the economy has shrunk. But when it shows no growth it’s not great either.
A Treasury spokesman said: “We have seen the fastest growth in the G7 since the start of the year, but for too many people our economy feels stuck. Working day in, day out without getting ahead.
“The Chancellor is determined to turn this around by helping businesses in every town and high street grow, investing in infrastructure and cutting red tape to get Britain building.”
What it means for your money
On the face of it, the economy growing is good news for your pocket and Rachel Reeves will be breathing a sigh of relief.
However, we are not out of the woods yet.
As the ONS has revised down figures for July. Initially it said there was no growth but now they are saying there was a 0.1% decline.
Households are still being pummelled by rising inflation and higher borrowing rates.
What we need is to see growth translate into lowering inflation and borrowing costs before it will have any impact on your disposable income.
When inflation is high, it means the cost of buying this is rising at a faster rate. This eats away at any spare cash you have.
And with unemployment rising too, it means that more people are out of work putting more pressure on government finances and they are also spending less, which has a negative effect on the economy
On Tuesday, it was revealed the jobless rate reached 4.8% in the three months to August, official figures show – the highest since between March to May 2021, when the nation was in the midst of a Covid lockdown.
Households will also be bracing themselves for the November Budget – especially as yesterday Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted she’s looking at tax rises to plug a black hole in government finances.
Reeves is also rumoured to be targeting savers, with plans to lower the amount that cash Individual Savings Accounts (Isa) users can stash away tax free.
The financial head is considering a tax raid on cash Isa accounts, slashing the generous £20,000 a year allowance in half to £10,000, according to reports.
A similar plan was floated over the summer, but faced push back from building societies who warned that mortgage bills could jump for millions.