New Delhi: Britain’s economy dropped in the third quarter, according to official figures released on Friday, likely indicating the country is already in a long-lasting recession.

Following a little increase in the second quarter, output decreased by 0.2 percent between July and September, according to a statement from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Last Monday, the Bank of England declared that the UK economy was in a recession and was expected to decline during the current third quarter. The BoE also issued a warning that the British economy would not recover until the middle of 2024.

The data released on Friday come before the government of new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes a new budget announcement on Thursday in an effort to bring much-needed political and economic stability to the UK.

With UK inflation at a four-decade high around 10%, Britain is experiencing a cost-of-living problem in addition to the recession.

As workers in the public and commercial sectors demand pay hikes to match inflation and gaps to salary growth experienced in recent years, the nation risks a winter of strike action.

“The sharp rise in energy and other consumer prices has contributed to a squeeze on household finances, which is expected to have pushed the UK economy into a recession from the third quarter of this year,” Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said following Friday’s data.

The third-quarter contraction was in part owing to a national public holiday to mark the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, which resulted in the closure of a large number of businesses, the ONS said.