The UK may avoid a recession for now but it won’t feel like it for many

Jeremy Hunt is not getting carried away by November growth, and monthly GDP moves can be erratic

• UK economy grew by only 0.1% in November
• Business live updates: UK may avoid 2022 recession

In normal circumstances the fact that the UK economy eked out a bit of growth in November would be of little relevance, especially since the 0.1% monthly expansion was partly the result of extra spending on food and drink during the World Cup.

Yet for a government sorely in need of some good - or even some less bad - news, the latest bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides some hope that the economy may have avoided falling into recession in late 2022.