- Between July and September the UK’s movie business grew by 5.9%
- In the last five years alone it has has soared in value by over 50%
- Film boom was revealed in disappointing growth figures published today
- Overall, the UK economy grew by just 0.5% in the 3 months to September
Britain’s booming film industry is growing more quickly than any other part of the economy, official figures showed this morning.
Between July and September the UK’s movie business grew by 5.9 per cent as the ‘James Bond effect’ took hold.
The film boom was revealed in disappointing figures published this morning showing that economic growth slumped to just 0.5 per cent.
The news will ease pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates.
Analysts had forecast that growth would slow slightly from 0.7 per cent in the second quarter to 0.6 per cent in the third.
The powerhouse services sector continued its strong performance, growing 0.7 per cent in the period. But a worrying 2.2 per cent slump in the construction sector dragged down growth.
That represents the biggest quarterly fall in construction for three years.
Manufacturing continued to struggle as it fell by 0.3per cent, while mining and quarrying increased 2.4 per cent.
However, the biggest economic success story was the ‘motion picture, video and TV’ industry.
In the last five years alone, the UK film industry has boomed by over 50 per cent – from being worth less than £2billion to more than £3.1billion.
It helped the economy record its 11th consecutive quarter of growth.
Responding to the figures, Mr Osborne warned that more ‘tough decisions’ would be required to keep the economy on track.
‘It is good news that Britain continues to outperform other Western economies,’ he said. ‘But there are clear global risks and there is still much more to do to fix our economy.
‘In the Autumn Statement we will take more steps to ensure we feel the recovery right across our country, make the long-term investments for the future and, crucially, continue to make the tough decisions required so that Britain lives within its means.’
But TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the latest figures highlighted how unbalanced Britain’s economic recovery remained, and called on the Chancellor to offer greater support to the manufacturing sector.
‘We need better balanced growth that delivers secure opportunities for working families,’ she said. ‘But while the economy is still expanding, the recovery is too weak, and Britain’s manufacturing industry remains in decline.
‘What’s more, the Government’s failure to protect our steel industry looks set to mean the loss of even more manufacturing jobs.
‘We need a proper industrial strategy to ensure our manufacturing industry keeps up with the rest of the world. And the Chancellor must invest more to boost demand rather than cutting the public services and tax credits which are vital to supporting working families.’
Mr Osborne said: GDP is 0.5per cent. UK continues to outperform other major economies. But global risks mean we go on with tough decisions to live within our means.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3291560/The-Bond-effect-Britain-s-booming-film-industry-growing-quickly-economy-growth-slumps-just-0-5.html#ixzz3ppjSGboo
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