London's Economy Today - Issue 159 - November2015

The overview

• Chancellor announces spending cuts but also a reversal of some tax credit cuts
• Chances of a UK interest rate rise soon pushed back
• The global economy cools but London is forecast to continue to grow

Economic indicators

• New orders in London rising with the PMI for new orders recorded at 57.9 in October 2015 compared to 58.0 in September 2015
• Surveyors report that house prices are increasing in London with the RICS Residential Market Survey showing a positive net balance of 25 for London house prices over the three months to October 2015.
• Consumer confidence positive in London and the UK with the consumer confidence score standing at 10 in October 2015, up from 5 in September 2015, for Greater London, while for the UK the consumer confidence score stood at 2 in October 2015, down from 3 in September 2015.

LET supplement: Eleven years of the London Living Wage

• On 2 November the Mayor announced the 2015 London Living Wage of £9.40 per hour. This was up 2.7 per cent, or £0.25 on the 2014 rate.
• Over the last 11 years the London Living Wage has risen by 40 per cent, faster than each of the National Minimum Wage, 33 per cent, Consumer Prices Index, 28 per cent, and Average Weekly Earnings, 26 per cent
• By November 2015 the number of accredited Living Wage employers had increased to 724, and the current estimate is that they have provided over 30,000 London workers with the living wage.