Category Archives: Office for National Statistics

UK high street faces post-Christmas ‘flurry of failure’

Posted on by

Lacklustre festive sales leaving retailers low on funds needed to cope when shoppers traditionally tighten belts in new year

The high street could face a “flurry of business failures” in the new year, as a lacklustre Christmas sales period is leaving retailers low on the funds needed to cope when households tighten their belts after the festive season.

“We can expect more consolidation and high street casualties as we head into the new year. It will be yet another tough year for retail and a case of survival of the fittest,” said Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG.

Continue reading...

Rise in back pain and long-term sickness linked to home working – ONS

Posted on by

Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since Covid

Back and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years.

The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic.

Continue reading...

Covid: one in 50 thought to be infected in England, data shows

Posted on by

Based on results from random swabbing, ONS says 1.1 million people in country have virus

Covid infection levels are continuing to rise in England, with more than 1.1 million people thought to have had the virus in the most recent week, data has revealed.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, based on swabs from randomly selected households, about one in 50 people in England – 2% of the population – had Covid in the week ending 24 September, an increase from one in 65 the week before.

Continue reading...

Pound falls as weak retail sales raise fears UK economy is in recession

Posted on by

On Black Wednesday anniversary, sterling hits 37-year low against dollar and 17-month low against euro

Fears that the British economy is already in recession after a slump in retail sales last month triggered heavy selling of the pound on international money markets taking it to a 37-year low against the dollar.

With average UK wages continuing to fall behind rising prices and the Bank of England expected to push up interest rates next week, sterling fell by more than 1% against the US currency to $1.135, its lowest since 1985.

Continue reading...

UK economy shrank by 0.1% in three months to June

Posted on by

ONS says two bank holidays to mark Queen’s jubilee contributed to fall in output in June

Britain’s economy contracted by 0.1% in the three months to June, according to official figures that revealed the weakening outlook for the UK, which is expected to enter a recession later this year.

The dip in output in the second quarter followed 0.8% growth in the first quarter and was driven by the health sector – as Covid testing and the vaccine programme was wound down – and by retail, as household spending fell. Economists had forecast a bigger fall in output of 0.2% in the second quarter.

Continue reading...

UK inflation hits fresh 40-year high of 9.4% as fuel prices rise

Posted on by

Annual rate in June up from May’s 9.1% figure and exceeds analysts’ expectations

Rising petrol and diesel prices for motorists and dearer food pushed Britain’s annual inflation rate to a fresh 40-year high of 9.4% last month.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the government’s preferred measure of the cost of living – the consumer prices index – was up from May’s 9.1% figure.

Continue reading...

Pupil numbers in England set to shrink by almost 1 million in 10 years

Posted on by

Government forecast anticipates 12% decline, mainly due to fewer births, with surplus school places in years ahead

England’s school population is set to shrink by almost a million children over the next 10 years, according to the government’s latest data, raising the prospect of surplus places and school closures in some areas of the country in the years ahead.

Department for Education figures reveal that predicted pupil numbers, already in marked decline according to earlier modelling, have had to be revised down further in line with projections of fewer births than expected.

Continue reading...

Soaring inflation pushes UK borrowing to £14bn in May

Posted on by

Interest on debt payment leaps 70% on a year ago to £7.6bn, a monthly record

Government borrowing was higher than expected in May at £14bn as soaring inflation sent interest payments on the UK’s debt to a monthly record.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said debt interest payments leapt 70% on a year ago to £7.6bn, the third highest debt interest payment made by central government in any single month and the highest payment in May on record.

Continue reading...

UK ramps up gas and oil exports to EU amid Russia’s war in Ukraine

Posted on by

Britain’s goods exports to EU a record £16.4bn in April despite impact of Brexit

The UK has drastically increased the volume of natural gas being pumped to the EU amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, powering a record monthly rise in goods exports to the continent despite Brexit.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show EU goods exports rose for the third consecutive month to £16.4bn in April, the highest monthly level in current prices since comparable records began in 1997.

Continue reading...

Recorded sex crimes reach record high in England and Wales

Posted on by

Victims’ commissioner calls goal of returning prosecution levels to pre-2017 levels ‘a pipe dream’

Sex crimes logged by police in England and Wales have reached a record high amid warnings from the victims’ commissioner that the government’s aim to boost prosecutions to levels last seen five years ago is “a pipe dream”.

Police-recorded sexual offences increased to their highest level over a 12-month period, with 183,587 in the year to December 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Continue reading...

Almost nine in 10 British adults say their living costs are rising

Posted on by

ONS says a quarter of households in survey are struggling to pay bills such as fuel and food

Almost 90% of British households reported an increase in their cost of living last month as they were hit by escalating fuel, food and borrowing costs.

Heaping further pressure on Rishi Sunak to increase his support for those on low and middle incomes, the Office for National Statistics said a quarter of all those in its survey were struggling to pay their bills and 17% had turned to loans or borrowing on credit cards to make ends meet.

Continue reading...

Covid cases down but too soon to tell if UK has passed peak, say experts

Posted on by

ONS data shows slight falls in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with estimated one in 15 people infected UK-wide

Coronavirus infections have fallen slightly in most of the UK, figures from the Office for National Statistics show, although experts analysing the data say it is too soon to say whether infections have passed their peak.

The ONS data, which is based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, shows that in the week ending 9 April about 4.42 million people in the UK had Covid, about one in 15 people, down from one in 13 the week before.

Continue reading...

Jump in UK wages fails to keep pace with cost of living

Posted on by

Pressure for more support for households and businesses after consumer prices rise 6.2%

Business live updates: jobless rate drops and wage squeeze continues

Britain’s cost of living crisis moved into its fourth consecutive month in February despite a jump in wages and a fall in unemployment to just 3.8%, its lowest level since 1974.

The Office for National Statistics said average earnings growth of 5.4%, including bonuses, failed to keep pace with a 6.2% rise in the consumer prices index in February, while for those who missed out on a bonus the situation was even worse after average wages increased by only 4%.

Continue reading...

Weekly Covid cases in UK increase by 1m, figures show

Posted on by

ONS says one in 11 people in Scotland had coronavirus in week ending 20 March – country’s highest figure since survey began

The number of coronavirus infections across the UK rose by an estimated 1m compared with the previous week, with figures in Scotland at a record high, data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed.

According to the latest information from the ONS, based on swabs collected from randomly selected households, an estimated 9% of the population in Scotland had Covid in the week ending 20 March, about one in 11 people. The figure is the highest recorded by the survey since it began looking at the situation in Scotland in October 2020.

Continue reading...

Jacob Rees-Mogg says Ukraine war shows Partygate scandal was just ‘fluff’ – as it happened

Posted on by

Brexit opportunities minister says people will find Partygate scandal ‘fundamentally trivial’ in the context of war in Ukraine. This live blog has now closed.

“I think people respect honesty,” says Rishi Sunak. A few weeks ago this would have been seen as an obvious dig at Sunak’s boss, but it did not sound like that today. He was talking about Treasury policy in the early days of the Covid pandemic, and how he felt it was important to admit that government policy would not be able to save all jobs.

Now he’s talking about the family dog. He was oppoosed to getting a puppy for a long time, he says, but when he became chancellor, he was spending so much time at work that he lost the moral authority to say no.

Continue reading...

UK wages fall at fastest rate since 2014 as cost-of-living squeeze bites

Posted on by

Unemployment rate falls below pre-Covid level but rising prices and energy bills hitswages

Unemployment in the UK has fallen below pre-Covid levels, but high inflation amid Britain’s cost of living crisis means average wages fell at the fastest rate since 2014.

The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the three months to January, dropping below the 4% rate in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK.

Continue reading...

Downing St was repeatedly warned over Boris Johnson’s misleading jobs claims

Posted on by

Statistics watchdog wrote to the PM about ‘selective use of data’ after statement about number of people in work

Government officials were warned repeatedly about making misleading claims about job figures before the official statistics watchdog reprimanded Boris Johnson over the matter.

Ed Humpherson, the director general of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), said there had been “a series of informal discussions” before the regulator took the “unusual” step of issuing public rebukes to No 10 over the same issue twice last month.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus vaccines may reduce risk of long Covid, ONS study finds

Posted on by

Observational study finds double-jabbed people 41% less likely to report Covid symptoms 12 weeks after a positive test

Vaccination could reduce the risk of long Covid, research by the Office for National Statistics suggests.

The study, of more than 6,000 adults, found those who were double-vaccinated had a 41% lower likelihood of self-reporting Covid symptoms 12 weeks after first testing positive.

Continue reading...

UK economy back to pre-pandemic levels in November

Posted on by

GDP expanded by 0.9% before impact of Omicron as Christmas shopping began early

The UK economy surpassed its pre-pandemic level for the first time in November after growing by 0.9% over the month, partly driven by an unexpected surge in early Christmas shopping.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said a jump in restaurant bookings and a rapid turnaround in construction output were also behind the growth that took the size of the economy 0.7% above its level before March 2020.

Continue reading...

UK Covid death toll has passed 175,000, says ONS

Posted on by

Figure of 176,035 differs significantly from government’s official count – which exceeded 150,000 at weekend

The UK’s main statistical body has reported more than 175,000 deaths involving Covid since the start of the pandemic.

The ONS has reported 176,035 deaths where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate since March 2020. The figure differs significantly from the government’s official count – which exceeded 150,000 deaths over the weekend – which requires patients to have had a positive test within 28 days before their death.

Continue reading...