- Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.4% in May 2012
- It was 2.6% in April
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Monthly Archives: May 2012
Working and workless households
Working and workless households: ONS
- In October to December 2011 there were 3.9 million workless households
- There were 11.1 million households including at least one person aged 16 to 64 where all adults worked
- 5.7 million households contained both working and workless members
English Business Survey
English Business Survey
Not a lot of change to report – but there are a couple of positive findings
- In England more workplaces, weighted by employment, reported higher rather than lower output in March 2012 compared with December 2011.
- A higher share of workplaces, weighted by employment, reported that output was higher rather than lower in March 2012 compared with March 2011.
Optimism in the UK economy rises
Companies are increasingly optimistic about economic prospects: QCA/BDO survey
- Optimism in the UK economy has risen sharply from 40.9 in January to 47.3 in April this year (small and mid-cap quoted companies)
Retail sales
- All retail sales values in April 2012 increased by 0.4 per cent when compared with April 2011. This is the slowest rate of growth since January 2010 when sales values where also 0.4 per cent higher compared with a year ago.
- Sales volumes in April 2012 decreased by 1.1 per cent when compared with April 2011. This is the largest fall in sales volume year-on-year growth since August 2011 when sales volumes fell by 1.2 per cent.
April was a washout for a range of retailers – BRC
CPI/RPI
I’ve been away and I’m only just catching up
Consumer Price Indices, April 2012: ONS
- CPI annual inflation stands at 3.0 per cent in April 2012, down from 3.5 per cent in March. The CPI stands at 122.9 in April 2012 based on 2005 = 100
- RPI annual inflation stands at 3.5 per cent in April 2012, down from 3.6 per cent in March. The RPI stands at 242.5 in April 2012 based on January 1987 = 100
CIPD Labour Market Outlook
- Near-term employment prospects are positive for the first time in more than a year
- This quarter’s net employment balance has increased to +6 from –8; the highest net balance score since autumn 2010
- Employment prospects will improve in all sectors of the economy in the second quarter of 2012
