European unemployment, June

The euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.1% in June 2013, stable compared with May.
The EU27 unemployment rate was 10.9%, down from 11.0% in May .
In both zones, rates have risen compared with June 2012, when they were 11.4% and 10.5% respectively.
26.424 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 19.266 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in June 2013.
Compared with May 2013, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 32 000 in the EU27 and by 24 000 in the euro area.
Compared with June 2012, unemployment rose by 1.080 million in the EU27 and by 1.129 million in the euro area

Euro inflation, July

Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 1.6% in July 2013, stable compared with June.

On census day, 27 March 2011, the population of the United Kingdom (UK) was 63.2 million; the largest it had ever been.
The population of the UK increased by 4.1 million (nearly 7 per cent) between 2001 and 2011.
The population of England was 53.0 million people, 5.3 million people in Scotland, 3.1 million people in Wales and 1.8 million people in Northern Ireland.
The median age for females in the UK was 40 years, the same as for England. In Northern Ireland the median age was 38 years, whereas in Scotland and Wales it was 42 years.
The median age for males in the UK was 38 years, the same as for England. In Northern Ireland the median age was 36 years, whereas in Scotland and Wales it was 40 years.
In 2011, 65 per cent (40.9 million) of the population of the UK were of working age (16 to 64 years).
Those aged 65 and over accounted for 16 per cent (10.4 million) of the population of the UK.
The proportion of the population of the UK who were children (0 to 15 years) was 19 per cent (11.9 million).

The capital has almost 7,000 vacant shops, costing the London economy £350 million in lost trade and earnings
Streets Ahead provides 13 recommendations to place boroughs at the centre of local economic development in their high streets and town centres.
It calls for the government to grant councils more powers to curb betting shops, payday lenders and fried food outlets, which can damage high streets. It shows that devolving more powers to councils would help stimulate growth and new jobs
It provides case studies of innovation, including:
- The London Borough of Harrow’s Inward Investment Strategy team has worked with banks and property agents to develop investment guides to its local district centres, highlighting local demographics and available properties. The average vacancy rate for retail frontages in town centres across the borough has fallen for the second year running from a high of 7.5 per cent in 2009/10 to 6.5 per cent in 2011/12
- The London Borough of Sutton developed a ‘meanwhile lease’ for previously vacant units. This provides an industry standard legal instrument to minimise administrative and legal costs for both landlords and tenants and to enable temporary occupation to take place without the need for lengthy legal procedures, encouraging new enterprises and bringing innovation and creativity back to the high street

According to the latest findings from the ONS Annual Population Survey, there were small improvements in personal well-being in the UK between 2011/12 and 2012/13.
The percentage of people reporting higher levels of life satisfaction, feeling that the things they do in life are worthwhile and happiness levels all increased while the percentage reporting higher levels of anxiety declined.
Between 2011/12 and 2012/13 the proportion of people rating their life satisfaction as 7 or more out of 10 rose from 75.9% to 77.0%. There was also a reduction in the proportion of people rating their anxiety at a higher level of 6 or more out of 10 falling from 21.8% to 20.9%.
The data show differences in personal well-being between groups of the population. For example, people aged 45 to 49 rated their life satisfaction lower than any other age group and Black people lower than any other ethnic group. There were no significant changes between the years for unemployed people whose average life satisfaction remained below those in employment.
Other non-official sources show an improvement in personal well-being for similar periods. They also show that life satisfaction in the UK changed less between 2007 and 2011 than other European countries.

Retail employment rose by 3.7% in the second quarter of 2013 compared with a year earlier, the strongest growth since December 2009.
In the second quarter of 2013, the number of outlets rose by 1.5%, driven entirely by food retailers.
There was a marginal improvement in employment intentions compared with the previous year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6% in Q2 2013 compared with Q1 2013.
All four main industrial groupings within the economy (agriculture, production, construction and services) increased in Q2 2013 compared with Q1 2013.
This is the first time since Q3 2010 that the three major industry groups (production, construction and services) have all had a positive contribution to quarterly GDP
GDP remains 3.3% below its pre-recession peak in Q1 2008
From peak to trough the economy shrank by 7.2%.