Faisal Islam: Six things we now know about the UK economy in charts

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Faisal Islam: Six things we now know about the UK economy in charts8 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleFaisal IslamEconomics editorGetty ImagesThe British economy is showing far more resilience than expected by many economists, including the IMF which suggested the UK would be hardest hit by the Iran war. It's worth diving into some of those numbers in more detail to get a better sense of how the economy is going – and importantly, what people think about it. Here are six charts that explain what is going on.

The economy was strong, despite Iran warThe latest set of official economic numbers show the economy grew by 0. 6% in the first quarter from January to March, notably higher than recent sluggish history. This is a solid number, and rather good in the circumstances of the Iran war raging in the last month of the time period.

The Details

It is worth noting, however, the pattern in recent years of a fast start to the year which can fade. Growth per person was healthy tooThese numbers can be boosted by population growth: more people working means more economic activity, which generally means more growth. So one way to measure whether people are doing better on average is to adjust economic growth by the number of people, using GDP per capita.

That has been even slower in recent years, reflecting stagnant living standards. The latest figures were however the fastest for four years, since the start of the energy shock after Russia invaded Ukraine. UK compares well to other advanced economiesEvery nation in the world has been hit by the Iran War, so it is interesting to compare the UK with the rest of the G7.

It is currently the fastest growing of these major economies - while Japan has not yet reported, its growth figure is expected to be lower than the UK. The IMF prominently forecast last month that the UK would be the hardest hit economy in the G7. It's early days, but that has not come to pass yet.

What Experts Say

This is possibly because household domestic energy bills have been protected. But it may also be the case that this energy shock, which is more about oil than gas, has affected the UK less as Britain has become less sensitive to gas prices in recent years. Some industries helped the economy growThere was growth across the board in services, construction and manufacturing.

The boost to wholesale and retail trade suggested a more resilient consumer. Professional scientific activities and information and communications did well, which chimes with a lot of strong investment news, verging on boom territory in the UK AI and tech sector, nicknamed "Britmaxxing". Other sectors struggledThere are some concerns emerging however, as to be expected from the rise in fuel and chemical costs.

The machinery and equipment sector fell, administrative services activities did too. A sector to watch is house building, especially given the rise in fixed mortgage rates.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.