London's Economy Today - Issue 196 - December 2018

The overview

• EU net migration drops to lowest level since 2012
• Pay awards pick up
• London’s economy accounted for over 23% of the UK economy in 2017

Economic indicators

• The business activity index for London private firms was 48.3 in November, down from 51.5 in October. This was the first fall in business activity since July 2016. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey shows the monthly business trends at private sector firms. Index readings above 50.0 suggest a month-on-month increase in activity on average across firms, while readings below indicate a decrease.
• House prices expectations continue to be negative. In November, most surveyors continued to have negative expectations for the next three months for house prices in London. The RICS index was -56 for this month, down from -41 in October. London remains the region with the most negative expectations for house prices.
• Consumer confidence in London was slightly negative in November at -2, down from 8 in October. 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: Ten years since the beginning of the world financial crisis

• The origin of the financial turbulences
• The economic consequences
• Ten years later…

London’s Economy Today data on the Datastore

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