Britain’s economy did not grow in the final quarter of 2022 and slowed by 0.5% in December, more than analysts expected, according to data released Friday by the country’s Office for National Statistics, CNBC reported.

The figures mean the country avoided a recession – usually defined as two quarters of economic decline – after contracting by 0.2% in the third quarter.

Overall, GDP grew by around 4% during 2022 after growing by 7.6% in 2021 as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The level of GDP in the last quarter of the year was 0.8% below the pre-pandemic level at the end of 2019, meaning that the UK is now the only G7 country that has not yet fully recovered the output lost during the pandemic.

“Despite avoiding a technical recession for now, the fall in GDP in December confirms that the economy has slowed towards the end of 2022 as strikes have contributed to economic contraction,” said Suren Thiru, chief economist at ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales).

“Britain is in for a particularly tough year with high inflation, tax rises and the delayed impact of multiple interest rate hikes pushing us into a summer recession due to lower incomes and lower confidence,” he said. Thiru also said.

Last week, the Bank of England predicted that in the first quarter of 2023, the UK economy will enter a small recession that will last for five quarters.