London's Economy Today - Issue 205 - September 2019

The overview

• One-year spending review announces an increase in government spending
• UK economic growth picks up in July
• London remains second in global financial index survey

Economic indicators

• New business in London slowed with the PMI New Business Index at 53.2 in London in August, down from 55.3 in July. An index reading above 50.0 indicates an increase in new orders from the previous month for most firms surveyed.
• Most surveyors continued to have negative expectations for house prices for the next three months in London. The RICS index was -32 in August, lower than in July (-26).
• Consumer confidence in London remains positive with the consumer confidence index at 5 in August, down from 12 in June and July. 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: London geographies and economic performance – insights from the Local Industrial Strategy evidence base interim report

This work presents a first cut of the evidence base that is informing and supporting the development of London’s Local Industrial Strategy. It presents clear, robust and comprehensive evidence on London’s economy with a view to supporting the overall objective of achieving inclusive growth in London. It reports on London’s strengths, key constraints, issues and risks for the five foundations of productivity introduced by the Industrial Strategy White Paper (Business Environment, People, Infrastructure, Ideas and Places).

The report has sought to:

• Reflect a wealth of evidence and analysis that the GLA has developed over the years, including, for example, the Economic Evidence Base for London 2016 and the draft London Plan 2017 as well as numerous technical publications by GLA Economics.
• Consider future opportunities and challenges as well as the London economy’s current situation and recent history.
• Provide rich granular and geographical detail to convey the complex and diverse nature of London’s economy.
• Go beyond descriptive analysis to provide clear and useful policy insights.

London’s Economy Today data on the Datastore

• The main economic indicators for London are available to download from the Datastore.