the uk economy rebounded in january driven by a resurgent services sector helped by the easing of strike action and the return of toplevel soccer at the start of the year the countrys gross domestic product expanded 03 in the first month of 2023 compared with the prior one from a 05 fall in december data from the office for national statistics showed friday it matched a poll of economists by the wall street journal which also expected the economy to expand 03 however the uks gdp was flat in the three months to january 2023 with monthly gdp now estimated to be 02 below precoronavirus levels the ons said the onmonth growth was driven by the services sector which grew 05 after tumbling 08 in december the largest drivers were in educationas school attendance returnedtransport and storage human health activities and arts all of which rebounded from falls in the prior month strikes had impacted the transport industry in december while sports activities rebounded after the return of premier league football which was paused for the world cup the ons said industrial production however decreased 03 weighed by falling manufacturing output according to ons data despite the rise economists still expect the uk economy to contract in the first quarter weighed by elevated interest rates that curb household spending and investments and a labor shortage that could stifle growth