THE UK economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first three months of this year.
The news comes ahead of a two day visit by the Welsh Secretary to key businesses and organisations in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot which are helping the economy of South West Wales to thrive and grow.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning confirmed the service sector brought the largest contribution to growth.
A spokesman for the ONS said: "At this stage the snowfall and cold weather during Q1 2013 appears to have had a limited impact on GDP growth.
"The strongest evidence was that it reduced retail output in January and March 2013 but boosted demand for electricity and gas in February and March, which increased output in the energy supply industries."
Growth in the economy also comes as the number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Swansea and Carmarthenshire fell from February to March.
However, the claimant count in Neath Port Talbot has been steadily rising since December last year and now stands at 3,648.
Chancellor George Osborne welcomed this morning's announcement by the ONS via his Twitter account.
Mr Osborne told his 44,903 followers: "Today's figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing.
"Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress."
Janet Jones, Welsh Policy Unit Chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "It is good news that the UK economy has avoided a third recession.
"We hope this news gives small business owners the confidence to invest and create jobs.
"While much of the growth came from the services sector, our own research shows these businesses lack the confidence needed to grow as people's spending habits change.
"The Chancellor says the economy is healing, but we believe there are still significant challenges.
"Access to finance continues to stifle growth for our members and we hope the Business Bank will help alleviate the situation.
"The Government must focus on building it into a strong and credible institution.
"However, while today's figures give us a picture of growth for the UK as a whole we lack important up-to-date figures on the performance of the Welsh economy.
"Without quarterly GDP figures for Wales we have no way of gauging the recent growth picture here and we reiterate our call for the Welsh Government to follow their counterparts in Scotland and commission quarterly GDP figures."
The news comes ahead of a two day visit by the Welsh Secretary to key businesses and organisations in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot which are helping the economy of South West Wales to thrive and grow.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning confirmed the service sector brought the largest contribution to growth.
A spokesman for the ONS said: "At this stage the snowfall and cold weather during Q1 2013 appears to have had a limited impact on GDP growth.
"The strongest evidence was that it reduced retail output in January and March 2013 but boosted demand for electricity and gas in February and March, which increased output in the energy supply industries."
Growth in the economy also comes as the number of people out of work and claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Swansea and Carmarthenshire fell from February to March.
However, the claimant count in Neath Port Talbot has been steadily rising since December last year and now stands at 3,648.
Chancellor George Osborne welcomed this morning's announcement by the ONS via his Twitter account.
Mr Osborne told his 44,903 followers: "Today's figures are an encouraging sign the economy is healing.
"Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making progress."
Janet Jones, Welsh Policy Unit Chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "It is good news that the UK economy has avoided a third recession.
"We hope this news gives small business owners the confidence to invest and create jobs.
"While much of the growth came from the services sector, our own research shows these businesses lack the confidence needed to grow as people's spending habits change.
"The Chancellor says the economy is healing, but we believe there are still significant challenges.
"Access to finance continues to stifle growth for our members and we hope the Business Bank will help alleviate the situation.
"The Government must focus on building it into a strong and credible institution.
"However, while today's figures give us a picture of growth for the UK as a whole we lack important up-to-date figures on the performance of the Welsh economy.
"Without quarterly GDP figures for Wales we have no way of gauging the recent growth picture here and we reiterate our call for the Welsh Government to follow their counterparts in Scotland and commission quarterly GDP figures."
