London's Economy Today - Issue 177 - May 2017

The overview

• UK GDP slows in the first quarter of 2017
• Bank of England forecasts inflation could rise a bit further in 2017
• Londoners generate the largest fiscal surplus per person in 2016

Economic indicators

• Business activity increases at strongest rate since December 2015 with the Purchasing Managers’ Output Index (PMI) rising from 56.4 to 56.9. Index readings above 50.0 suggest a month-on-month increase in that variable, while readings below indicate a decrease.
• London firms report a strong rise in new business for the ninth consecutive month in May. In addition, at 59.6, the PMI New Business Index signalled the fastest rate of growth since July 2015. An index reading above 50.0 indicates an increase in new orders from the previous month.
• London’s house prices continue to fall during the three months to April 2017 according to property surveyors.

London’s Economy Today supplement: Closing time – London’s Public Houses

This work looks at what's been happening to the number of pubs, and employment therein, in London.

• The number of pubs and bars in London has fallen by 25 per cent over the past 15 years, from 4,835 in 2001 to 3,615 in 2016. This is a net loss of 81 pubs per year.
• However, over the same period, employment in London pubs increased by 8.7 per cent, from 42,600 in 2001 to 46,300 in 2016. This is a net gain of 247 jobs per year.
• Two London boroughs reported a loss of over 50 per cent of their pubs – Barking and Dagenham (a loss of 56 per cent) and Newham (52 per cent). Other badly-affected boroughs include Croydon (45 per cent), Waltham Forest (44 per cent), Hounslow (42 per cent) and Lewisham (41 per cent). Hackney, the only borough that did not report an overall loss, saw an increase of 3 per cent since 2001.

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