London's Economy Today - Issue 211 - March 2020

The overview

• Coronavirus takes hold in the UK, and grows fastest in London
• Government economic response to COVID-19
• Impact on London of COVID-19

Economic indicators

• New business activity in London decreased with the PMI New Business Index at 54.2 in London in February, down from 56.9 in January. An index reading above 50.0 indicates an increase in new orders from the previous month.
• Expectations of house price rises in London decreased in February with surveyors reporting a fall in those expecting a rise in London house prices (27) when compared to the previous month (42). The net balance index measures the proportion of respondents reporting a rise in prices minus those reporting a decline.
• Consumer confidence remained negative in London with the index at -3 in February, broadly unchanged from -4 in January. 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: Regional, sub-regional and local Gross Value Added estimates for London, 1998-2018

• Using the balanced approach GVA(B), London’s total GVA was above £436.5 billion in 2018, up 2.1% in real terms on 2017.
• In 2018, London’s GVA(B) accounted for 23.7% of the UK’s total output, the largest share of the historic series
• London was also the region with the highest average GVA(B) per hour worked – a usual measure of labour productivity – in the UK at £2,327 for 2018, 31.4% higher than the UK average which was £1,771.

London’s Economy Today data on the Datastore

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