Prices are rising at their fastest rate for 40 years, eating into people's budgets, and outpacing growth in pay.
But ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner said that lots of other customer-facing businesses like retail, hairdressers and hotels were "faring relatively poorly" in August.
A reduction in the amount spending by the government related to the pandemic was also one of the big causes of the slump in manufacturing, which was hit by pharmaceutical companies cutting back production. Some experts expect that September could see an even bigger drop in economic output, with the extra bank holiday for the Queen's funeral and the period mourning affecting business opening hours, as well as higher costs starting to bite."The ongoing squeeze on household finances continue to weigh on growth, and likely to have caused the UK economy to enter a technical recession".
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng insisted the government's energy support package and growth plan will "address the challenges that we face". It comes after the International Monetary Fund warned that the worst was still to come for the global economy, while 2023 would "feel like a recession" for many people because of rising costs and the continued fall-out of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Rachel Reeves MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor, said: "That the IMF yesterday described the "UK like a car with two people each trying to steer the car in a different direction" leaves us an international laughing stock.
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