UK economy experiences shock contraction in April

April was the first month that all main sectors (manufacturing, construction and services) have contributed negatively to GDP since January 2021. The drop in GDP was mainly triggered by the decline of the NHS Test and Trace program, which fell by 70% in April as tests stopped being free of charge, helping GDP to drop by 0.4%. April's decline, along with weak GDP recovery in preceding months, means that the UK economy is now only 0.9% larger than before the first coronavirus lockdown in Spring 2020. Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "Manufacturing also...