Office for National Statistics news and archive

UK inflation hits 40-year high

The UK has seen record inflation in July, with the highest rate of increase in 40 years. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 10.1 percent from 9.4 percent for the month of June, higher than the forecasted 9.8 percent. Prices for clothing and footwear items fell by 1.5 percent between June and...

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Suits out, sports bras in to calculate inflation

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that sports bras and crop tops have been added to its “virtual basket” to calculate annual changes to the inflation of goods, while men’s suits have been removed. The virtual basket of goods contains more than 700 “carefully selected items representative of the goods and services that...

Retail

Retail sales jump in July thanks to strongest online growth in three years

Retail sales in the UK saw an unexpected jump in July thanks to the strongest growth in online spending for three years. Retail sales increased 0.2 percent in July compared to the previous month thanks to a 6.9 percent jump in online sales, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Online sales for the month contributed 19.9 percent...

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UK economic growth slowed in Q4

UK economic growth slowed to just 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell to 0.2 percent between October and December, following a strong third quarter, in which it grew by 0.6 percent, when the warm weather boosted the economy....

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UK economic growth hits six-month low

Growth in the UK economy has slowed in the three months to November to its weakest pace in six months. The economy grew by 0.3 percent in this period, down from 0.4 percent in the three months to October, according to new data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The economy grew by 0.2 percent in November, up from October’s 0.1 percent...

Retail

Warm weather boosted UK retail for June says ONS

Warm weather, strong summer collections and sales have helped boost clothing sales across the UK, according to new data from The Office for National Statistics (ONS). ONS released data representing a percentage rise of 0.4 percent in value of UK retail sales this June, compared to a month earlier in May, which saw a decrease of 1.1 percent in...

Retail

Majority of UK consumers go online via mobile

Research published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that 96 percent of UK adults now go online via mobile devices and 76 percent shop online, meaning retailers without a comprehensive mobile commerce strategy risk extinction, an e-commerce veteran has warned. Dan Wagner, Internet entrepreneur and founder of Powa...

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Business

Zero hours contracts hit 1.8 million high

Businesses in the UK used 1.8 million zero hours contracts at the height of last summer, according to official figures from The Labour Force Survey, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The survey showed that 1.8 million contracts that do not guarantee work were being utilised by UK firms during August 2014, up from a 1.4...

Design

Olympics boost UK retail economy

The UK economy has returned to growth in the three months from July to September, boosted by the Olympic Games, it has been announced today. GDP grew by one per cent over the third quarter compared with Q2, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) although, in volume terms, it r emained flat when compared with the same period a year...

Design

Matalan creating extra jobs

Discount retailer, Matalan, will be creating an extra 2,300 Christmas jobs across its 208 UK stores to cope with demand. Coming at a time of mass unemployment for the young UK generation – the Office for National Statistics shows that one in five young are without a job - the retailer’s stated commitment to turn these temporary roles into...