Boris Johnson's government has promised £400 ($480) in grants per family to help out the millions of people struggling to pay their energy bills. It also bowed to pressure last month and unveiled a £5 billion ($6 billion) tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies.

High inflation, combined with damaging Brexit policies have sapped the nation's growth. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast last month that the UK economy was heading to stagnation, with zero growth in GDP forecast for 2023. That would be the worst performance in the G7 next year.

The pound has also been hammered this year, losing 11% of its value against the US dollar, which will likely make it more expensive to import goods.

*

But there is one bright spot. Hiring is continuing apace last month, preliminary ONS data showed, with the number of people on payroll growing 3% compared to a year ago.

— Mark Thompson contributed reporting.

Boris Johnson's government has promised £400 ($480) in grants per family to help out the millions of people struggling to pay their energy bills. It also bowed to pressure last month and unveiled a £5 billion ($6 billion) tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies.

High inflation, combined with damaging Brexit policies have sapped the nation's growth. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast last month that the UK economy was heading to stagnation, with zero growth in GDP forecast for 2023. That would be the worst performance in the G7 next year.

The pound has also been hammered this year, losing 11% of its value against the US dollar, which will likely make it more expensive to import goods.

*

But there is one bright spot. Hiring is continuing apace last month, preliminary ONS data showed, with the number of people on payroll growing 3% compared to a year ago.

— Mark Thompson contributed reporting.