London's Economy Today - Issue 278 - October 2025

Key information

Publication type: General

Publication date: Thursday 30 October 2025

UK inflation remains steady in September
IMF projects UK growth improvement, but fiscal and financial pressures remain high
London consumer confidence remains high

The business activity PMI index for London private firms decreased from 56.7 in August to 53.8 in September. An index reading above 50.0 indicates an increase in new orders on average across firms from the previous month.
In September, less than half of all property surveyors expressed positive expectations for house prices in London over the next three months. The net balance of house prices expectations in London was -21 in September, down from -12 in August.
The consumer confidence index in London was 18 in October, the same as in September. 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.

Gender inequalities in the UK and London labour markets are large. Recent data show that women living in London are around 10 percentage points less likely to be in work than men; and earn on average 19% less per hour than men.
The ONS has published data tables showing how the motherhood penalty affects different socio-economic groups, and how it varies by region of residence. This supplement highlights two key findings for London:

among those who remain in work, the earnings penalty is slightly smaller than in England as a whole
the employment penalty is larger and continues to worsen over time.