UK economy grew by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2013
Business leaders in Birmingham welcomed todayâs GDP figures, which showed that the UK economy grew by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing the annual growth rate to 1.9%.
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The largest contribution came from a 0.8 per cent increase from the service sector.
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Tim Pile, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: âTodayâs announcement shows that recovery is becoming bedded in and that optimism is starting to grow
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âThe Chamberâs latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) also confirmed this sentiment. For Q4 2013, 68 per cent of service sector firms and 67 per cent of manufacturers across Greater Birmingham were confident that their turnover would increase over the next 12 months.
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âHowever, while the story is more positive, we are seeing a lot of the growth tied up in London. In 2014, we need to see capital spending on infrastructure to untap the growth potential of Greater Birmingham and the Core Citiesâ