Britain did indeed enter a technical recession over the latter half of last year, revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed on Thursday.
However, the contraction was not as bad as originally feared, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth coming in at a negative 0.4%, against previous estimates of minus 0.5%.
This is after revised figures showed a 0.1% contraction between July and September, followed by a 0.3% reduction between October and December.
GDP was said to have ticked up by 0.2% over the month of January meanwhile, supported by a 1.1% growth in the UK’s construction output.
However, the figure remained in negative territory over the three months to January, down 0.2%, as service output stagnated, production dipped 0.2% and construction fell 0.9%.
"Overall, 2023 was a disappointing year for the UK economy with little growth in the first half and a small contraction in the second half," Charles Stanley (LSE:CAY) analyst Rob Morgan commented.
"However, it could now be on the road to a tentative recovery.
"Importantly, having battled the impact of stubborn inflation and high-interest rates, many households are now starting to benefit from inflation falling more rapidly than wage growth.
"Amid a resilient jobs market, a boost to spending power in real terms bodes well for growth in the coming months."