The UK economy grew 2.3% in April, its fastest monthly growth since July last year.
Shoppers spent more on the High Street as non-essential shops reopened, and people bought more cars and caravans.
There was also more spending in pubs, cafes and restaurants as restrictions eased the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Despite the surge in activity, the UK economy is still 3.7% below its pre-pandemic peak.
Construction fell in April, compared to strong growth the previous month, but the sector remains above its pre-pandemic peak.
But Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that the figures were "a promising sign that our economy is beginning to recover".
Mr Sunak said more than one million people had come off the government's furlough scheme in March and April as businesses reopened.
Jonathan Athow, ONS deputy national statistician for economic statistics said: "Strong growth in retail spending, increased car and caravan purchases, schools being open for the full month, and the beginning of the reopening of hospitality all boosted the economy in April."
Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said shoppers flocked back to the High Street as households spent some of their savings on non-essential goods.
Spending in non-essential shops drove much of the growth as customers were allowed back into stores from 12 April in England, with clothes stores seeing a boost of 69.4%.
Overall growth in the services sector was 3.4%, although it remains 4.1% below pre-pandemic levels of February 2020.
This included restaurants, bars and cafes, where customers could eat and drink outdoors again, seeing a 39% rise in growth.
People also used the ability to travel across the country again, with activity at caravan parks and holiday lets growing 68.6%, while hairdressers and other personal services grew 63.5%.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, chief executive of UK think tank New Economics Foundation, told the BBC the figures were in line with what was expected "which is a big bounce as the restrictions were eased and the economy starts going back to normal".
"But underneath this is probably going to be a story of two halves - the GDP numbers tell us the economy is recovering, but it's likely to be uneven, with the bounceback driven by parts of the economy that have essentially been insulated from the worst parts of the pandemic, and other parts of the economy - those with no work, or small businesses - really, really struggling, particularly as the government starts removing some [support] going into the autumn."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2J1c2luZXNzLTU3NDM4NDM30gEwaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYnVzaW5lc3MtNTc0Mzg0MzcuYW1w?oc=5
2021-06-11 07:24:39Z
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