The UK narrowly avoided a recession at the end of last year, figures published on Friday showed.
According to the the Office for National Statistics (ONS) the economy recorded zero growth between October and December.
Jeremy Hunt said the UK was “not out the woods yet”, adding said that the country could have some of the best growth prospects in Europe if it sticks to his plan.
“Our economy is more resilient than many feared,” the chancellor said.
But Labour said the country was “stuck in the slow lane”, while the Lib Dems said the government was guilty of “economic vandalism”.
Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said the economy “contracted sharply” in December meaning, overall, there was no growth in the economy over the last three months of 2022.
“Public services were hit by fewer operations and GP visits, partly due to the impact of strikes, as well as notably lower school attendance,” he said.
“The break in Premier League football for the World Cup and postal strikes also caused a slowdown.
“However, these falls were partially offset by a strong month for lawyers, growth in car sales and the cold snap increasing energy generation.
“Across 2022 as a whole, the economy grew 4%. Despite recent squeezes in household incomes, restaurants, bars and travel agents had a strong year.”
Morgan added health and education also began to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Rachel Reves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said the figures showed the economy was “stuck in the slow lane”.
“We must bring in urgent measures to prevent yet more harm from the cost of living crisis, using a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants to stop the energy price cap going up in April so that people have more money in their pockets,” she said.
Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said: “Britain is dangling on over the edge of a recession after months of economic vandalism and chaos in government.
“The blame for these gloomy figures lies squarely with the government, who have botched budgets, failed to tackle inflation and have no plan for growth.”