Euro area and EU inflation – January

Euro area annual inflation was 2.6% in January 2012, down from 2.7% in December 2011. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. Monthly inflation was -0.8% in January 2012.
EU annual inflation was 2.9% in January 2012, down from 3.0% in December 2011. A year earlier the rate was 2.7%. Monthly inflation was -0.6% in January 2012.

Young people in work – 2012

In October to December 2011 the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who had a job stood at 3.6 million
For those who had left full-time education around two-thirds (66 per cent) were in work and for those studying full-time, 27 per cent had a job to go alongside their study

34% of retailers reported an increase in their volume of sales in the year to February
36% said they had seen a reduction.
The resulting balance of -2% represents an improvement on last month’s survey (-22%) and exceeded expectations (-10%)
The growth in the volume of orders placed upon suppliers was better than anticipated, although it remained weak (-4%)

The balance of expectations for output in March 2012 compared with December 2011 is positive across all regions
Expectations for employment in March 2012 compared with December 2011 are negative in all but one region (South East); the balance in the North East is lower than that seen in other regions.

Adults in Great Britain were more likely to be satisfied with their personal relationships than with their life overall (8.3 and 7.4 out of 10 respectively)
Those with higher levels of satisfaction with their personal relationships tend to have higher levels of overall life satisfaction
Around 1 in 20 adults reported being completely lonely in their daily lives
Adults with a partner or spouse reported higher levels of life satisfaction than those who were single or were separated or divorced
47.3 per cent of adults reported being highly satisfied (9 to 10 out of 10) with their relationships with their friends
About two thirds of adults reported being satisfied with their social life, although younger and older people reported higher levels of satisfaction than those between the ages of 25 and 54
87 per cent of the working population of the EU in 2004 reported that they were satisfied with the people that they worked with compared with 91 per cent in the UK

Business conditions weakened for the UK services sector in the three months to February
Business activity fell at a slower rate than in the previous quarter in Consumer Services
Business activity fell by less than expected for Business & Professional firms
Decline in both sectors is expected to slow further in the coming three months

4 datasets relating to the underlying indicators for the Indices of Deprivation – released by Neighbourhood Statistics