The recession deepened in the first quarter of 2009, as the UK's GDP fell by 1.9 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent the previous quarter. The increased rate of decline in output was due to weaker services and production output, latest figures from ONS show. 

Total production output fell by 5.5 per cent, compared with a fall of 4.5 per cent in the previous quarter. Manufacturing took the biggest hit, falling by 6.2 per cent compared with a 4.9 per cent the previous quarter. Services suffered less, falling by 1.2 per cent compared to 0.8 per cent in the last quarter of 2008. Full details at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=192