London's Economy Today - Issue 178 - June 2017

The overview

• Bank rate held while inflation reaches four-year high
• Retail sales grow at the slowest rate in four years
• Londoners maintain their optimism but concerns arise for the financial sector

Economic indicators

• At 55.7, the Business Activity Index suggested that London firms continued to experience a solid rise in output during May. Index readings above 50.0 suggest a month-on-month increase in that variable, while readings below indicate a decrease.
• House price expectations for London remained negative in May 2017. The net balance of -44 was the lowest since June 2016. Meanwhile, property surveyors on average expect house prices across England and Wales to remain broadly unchanged over the next three months. At -1, the net balance was close to the zero no-change mark.
• Londoners continue to be more optimistic than the rest of the UK. At +4, the consumer confidence index has now signalled optimism for five consecutive months The GfK index of consumer confidence reflects people’s views on their financial position and the general economy over the past year and in the next 12 months. A score above zero suggests positive opinions; a score below zero indicates negative sentiment.

London’s Economy Today supplement: Productivity trends in London

• Productivity is an important indicator of economic performance by showing the efficiency of converting inputs into outputs. This work provides estimates of Gross Value Added (GVA) per workforce job for London, the regions and the UK, by industry section and division, through to 2015.
• The latest data finds that the all sector average GVA per workforce job in London was £58,442 in 2015 (a value 36.1 per cent higher than the UK as a whole and 48.6 per cent higher than the UK excluding London). In nominal terms, for 2015, the all-sector average GVA per workforce job in London increased by 1.3 per cent. For the UK as a whole, the all sector average GVA per job was £42,918; and £39,339 for the rest of the UK (excluding London); increases of 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.
• In real terms, GVA per workforce job in London fell by 0.4 per cent compared to the previous year; and in 2015, remains below the value seen in 2010.

London’s Economy Today data on the Datastore

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