Families And Households 2012

There were 18.2m families in the UK in 2012 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. Married couple family types (including civil partnerships) are the most common family type in the UK in 2012. The number of married families without dependent children was 7.6m and the number with dependent children was 4.6m. The number of families consisting of a married couple with or without children was 12.2m. Cohabiting couple families increased significantly from 1.5m in 1996 to 2.9m in 2012. The number of dependent children in cohabiting families increased from 0.9m to 1.8m. In 2012, 38% of married couples had dependent children compared with 39% of cohabiting families. Lone parent families with dependent children has increased steadily since 1996 from 1.6m to 2m. There were 26.4m households in the UK in 2012. Nearly 20% consisted of 4 or more people and 29% consisted of 1 only person.

GDP Decline Revised To 0.4%

GDP decline in the UK between Q1 and Q2 2012 was revised from 0.5% to 0.4% in the Quarterly National Accounts statistics bulletin from the ONS. The production industries fell by 0.7%, previously estimated at 0.9%, manufacturing output was estimated at 0.9% and was revised up to 0.8%. The service industries decline of 0.1% was unrevised.Construction was revised up from 3.9% to 3%. Household consumption fell by 0.2% revised from 0.4%. Compensation of employees increased by 0.2% revised down from 1.2%.

CPI Down To 2.5% In August

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 2.5% in August 2012 from 2.6% in July according to a statistical bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The main pressure pushing the index down came from furniture, household equipment & maintenance, housing & household services (particularly domestic gas) and clothing & footwear. The downward pressure from these sectors was partially offset by upward pressure from transport (particularly motor fuels).

Internet Access Has Reached 80% Households

In 2012 we saw Internet access increase again to reach 80% of British households. The 21m homes represent an increase of 3% on the 19m households with Internet access in 2011. The number has increased by 7.1m since comparable records began in 2006. The most common reason given by the 5.2m households that do not have access to the Internet was 'we do not need it'. A key point was that in 2012, 67% of British adults use a computer every day.

Inflation Stands At 3.4%

CPI inflation stands at 121.8 or a percentage change of 3.4% in February 2012 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. RPI inflation stands at 3.7%. The annual rate is the lowest since November 2010.

The biggest downward pressure on the CPI came from domestic electricity and gas, recreation and culture and transport. The biggest upward pressure came from alcohol off sales and vegetables.

On the monthly comparison the CPI rose by 0.6% between January and February 2012 compared with 0.7 a year ago. The biggest upward pressure on the monthly comparisdon came from clothing and footwear, food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and furniture. The biggest downward pressure came from housing and household services.

Inflation Down to 4.8% In November

Inflation fell to 4.8% in November from the 5% figure of October. The index number is 121.2 (2005=100). RPI stands at 5.2%. Food, petrol, clothing and furniture household and equipment and maintenance provided the largest downward pressure. Domestic heating and off sales of alcohol provided upward pressure to the CPI. While upward pressure came from the same sectors as the CPI, downward pressure on the RPI came from wines and spirits off sales and fuel and light.

Fall In Wheat Usage, Barley Usage Up

There was a 7% fall in the amount of wheat milled in August 2011 from 511,000 tonnes to 475,000 tonnes. The total amount of flour milled fell by 6.5% in total. The amount of bread flour, cake flour and household flour both increased. Biscuit making flour fell by 0.8%.

Brewers, maltsters and distillers used 149,600 tonnes of barley in August, up 10.5% on the 135,300 tonnes in August 2010. Malting barley accounted for 142,500 tonnes, up 11.5%.

Oats usage was up 2.6% from 111,500 tonnes to 114,400 tonnes. Oats were mainly used for flakes, rolled oats and flour.

Fall In Household Consumption

Household final consumption expenditure fell by 0.8% during the second quarter of 2011.

The biggest contributions to the negative growth were from the transport and food sectors. Positive contributions came from clothing and footwear and miscellaneous.

GDP Up 0.8% In Q3 2010

GDP in the UK rose by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter. Ouput in the production industries increased by 0.6% and manufacturing by 1%. Household expenditure increased by 0.3% gross fixed capital formation by 0.6% and current market prices by 1%. The service industries increased their putput by 0.6% and construction by 4%.

Eurostat released figures showing GDP increased by 0.4% in the euro area and 0.5% in EU27 during Q3 2010 compared with Q2. Compared with last year GDP increased by 1.9% in the euro area and 2.2% in EU27. In the OECD, GDP rose by 0.6% the sixth consecutive month of growth on the quarter and 3.1% compared with last year.

Inflation Unchanged From August

Headline inflation remained at 3.1% in September as it was in August though there were significant changes within the index that put pressure on it between August and September.

Falling air fares and second-hand car prices put most downward pressure on inflation with the main upward pressures counteracting it being record price increases for August in clothing and footwear and food and non-alcoholic beverages where prices also rose slightly. Furniture, household equipment and maintenace also increased by 1.7%.

Food And Drink Wastage

A study by Defra into wastage of food and drink in 2008 discovered that 15% of all food and drink purchased that could have been eaten was wasted. Different types of food and drink were wasted at different rates. As well as 15% of all food and drink, 17% of food was wasted, 32% of bread, 24% of potatoes and vegetables, 20% of fruit, 7% of soft drinks and 6% of alcoholic drinks that could have been consumed were also wasted.

Analysis showed that 16% of all calories were wasted, 20% of carbohydrates and 23% of fibre. Some are wasted less like the 9% of confectionery, soft drinks, fruit juices and biscuits and cakes. The higher priced items were wasted less. Single person households wasted 22% and all other households 14% of food and drink purchases.

Retail Sales Up In August

The value and volume of retail sales both increased in August 2010 compared with August last year. The volume increased by 0.4% but the value increased by 1.9% over the same period.

In food stores sales values decreased by 0.4% while volumes increased by 3.5%. In non-food stores increased monthly sales values by 4.2% and volumes by 4.6%. The non-store retailing sector increased sales values by 14.6% on last year and volume of sales increased by 16.6%.

Within the predominantly non-food stores catoegory, non-specialised stores reported the largest rises with a 9.7% increase in sales values and a 10.8% increase in sales volumes. Textile, clothing and footwear increased sales values by 6.4% and sales volumes by 7.5%. Household goods stores decreased sales values by 1.8% and sales volumes by 1.5%. The average weekly value of Internet retail sales in August was £473 million or 8.7% of total retail sales.

CPI Unchanged At 3.1%

The consumer price index remained at 3.1% in August according to the ONS even though there were significant upward and downward pressures on the index.

Rising air fares (16.1%), clothing (2.8%) and food were the most important contributors to upward pressure while a fall in second-hand car prices and falling petrol and diesel prices contributed downward pressure.

The most important upward contributions to the change in the 12 month rate came from clothing and footwear, food and non-alcoholic beverages. Downwrad pressure contributing to the change came from transport and furniture, household equipment and maintenance.

The 12 month rate to August was affected by upward pressure from transport (1.2%), food and alcoholic beverages (0.5%) and restaurants and hotels (0.4%). Clothing and footwear contributed downward pressure.

The RPI all items index and the RPIX increased by 4.7% from 4.8% in July.

Retail Sales Up 2.5%

The value of retail sales in June 2010 went up by 2.5% compared with June 2009 according to the ONS Retail Sales Index. The index stood at 116.3 compared with 116.2 in May 2010 an increase of 0.1% and 113.5 in June 2009. The volume rose by 1.3%. The index was 113.1 compared with 111.7 in June 2009 and 112.3 in May 2010 an increase of 0.7%.

In food stores the value of sales was up by 1.7% on a year ago while the volume was 0.2% lower. The value of sales rose by 3.7% in non-food stores along with an increase of 4.4% in the volume of sales. Household goods rose by 4.4% in value and 6.1% in volume, textiles, clothing and footwear increased in sales value by 3.3% and in volume by 4.2%. The non-specialised store category sales increased in value by 9.1% and volume increased by 10.3%. Non-store retailing increased sales values by 14.1% and volume by 14.8%. The figures are seasonally-adjusted.

Non-seasonally adjusted prices were estimated to have risen by 1.3% compared with June 2009. The value of fuel sales was 3.6% lower than last year but the volume was 15.9% lower. The value of Internet retail sales in June was estimated to have been £437m which equates to 7.9% of total retail sales (excluding fuel). The total value of sales in June 2010 was estimated to have been £30.9bn (non-seasonally-adjusted) and the average weekly value was £6.2bn.

Different sized retailers have a mix of experiences in terms of growth of sales value and volume. The biggest retailers with over 100 employees reported an average 3.3% increase in sales between June 2009 and June 2010. The smallest retailers, with 0-9 employees, sales fell by 0.9% over the same period. Those employing 40-69 employees experienced 51.3% growth over the year but businesses with 70-99 employees saw their sales decrease by 45.7%.

GDP Falls Over The Quarter, Record Fall Over The Year

The final estimated UK GDP in volume terms increased by 0.3% on the previous quarter, the same as it was estimated in the previous estimate in May. GDP fell in volume by a record 4.9% during 2009. The household saving ratio was 6.9% and real household disposable income rose by 0.4% following a fall of 1% in the previous quarter.

GDP output by category shows that in agriculture, forestry and fisheries output fell by 2.2%. The production industries increased output by 1% over the quarter but output fell by 10.2% over 2009. Mining and quarrying output fell by 0.5% but manufacturing output rose by 1.4%. Electricity, gas and water utilities output increased by 0.4% but construction decreased by 1.6%. Services increased output by 0.3% but output in 2009 fell by 3.3% on 2008 while distribution, hotels and restaurants fell in all sub-categories and by 0.7% overall. Transport, storage and communication increased output by 0.2% due to weaker growth in land transport and post and telecommunications. Business services and finance output increased by 1% due to stronger growth in banking, renting and real estate. Government and other services reported an unchanged level of growth with output in health and social care increasing by 0.5% and other services increasing by 0.2%. Education decreased by 0.6% and public administration and defence output fell by 0.3%.

GDP can also be analysed using expenditure categories. Gross domestic expenditure incrrased by 1.2%. Household final consumption expenditure fell by 0.1% and so the volume of spending in 0.2% lower than Q1 2009. Government final consumption expenditure increased by 1.5% from 0.1% in the previous quarter. Gross fixed capital formation increased by 4.4% compared with a fall of 1.7% in the previous quarter. The increase was mainly due to an increase of 7.8% in business investment which is still 7.7% lower than Q1 2009. General government investment increased by 6.5%. In 2009 gross fixed capital formation decreased by 15% compared with 5% a year earlier. Inventories decreased by £2.2bn. The trade deficit increased to £10.4bn.

The GDP implied deflator at market prices was 2.9% above the same quarter 2009 and increased by 1.7% over the quarter 2010. GDP at market prices increased by 2.1% over the quarter but fell by 3.7% in 2009.

GDP Up 0.2% In Europe

EU GDP increased by 0.2% during the first quarter of 2010 according to a news release from Eurostat. GDP in both the euro area and the EU27 rose by the same amount in the quarter according to these second estimates.

These figures compare with the 0.1% and 0.2% growth in GDP in the euro area and the EU27 rspectively in the last quarter of 2009. In comparison with the first quarter of 2009 GDP rose by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU27 after falling by 2.1% and 2.3% respectively in the previous quarter.

The Member States which data are available show that Ireland recorded the highest GDP growth with 2.7%, then Sweden with 1.4% and Portugal with 1.1% growth on the previous quarter. Comparing the same quarter of the previous year, Slovakia recorded the highest GDP growth with 4.5%. GDP in the US grew by 0.7% and Japan by 1.2% in the first quarter 2010. When compared with the same quarter last year the US GDP has grown by 2.4% and Japan's GDP by 4.2%.

Among the various components of GDP household final consumption expenditure decreased by 0.1% in the euro area and the EU27. Investments fell by 1.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27. Exports increased by 2.1% in the euro area and by 2% in the EU27 and imports rose by 3.8% and 3.4% respectively.

Inflation Up 3.7%

The CPI for May rose by less than in April but it is still far higher than the Government target of 2%. It rose by 3.7% in April. The index was 114.4. The RPI at 223.6 rose by 5.1% down from 3.7% last month. The RPIX (RPI excluding mortgage interest payments) rose to 222.8 or by 5.1%, down from 5.4% the previous month.

The main contributory sectors to the change in the CPI were food and non-alcoholic beverages chiefly meat and in particular pork and fruit particularly grapes. Vegetables also had a small downward effect. Transport also had a downward effect as did the purchase of new cars and road passenger transport. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, recreation and culture both had large downward effects. Books had a small upward effect. Housing and household services provided the only large upward contribution.

The RPI experienced a large downward contribution from food, fruit particularly grapes and mayonnaise and meat. Motoring expenditure and the purchase of motor vehicles made downward effects. The price of alcohol rose but by less than a year ago. Small downward contributions came from leisure services in particular foreign holidays, tobacco prices rising by less than a year ago and from household services again prices rising by less than a year ago. A small upward contribution was made by household goods where there were price rises. Furniture, in particular, kitchen base units provided the upward effect partially offset by a downward effect from furnishings.

An Increase of 3.4% In The CPI

The CPI for March 2010 went up by 3.4% from 3% in February and the RPI by 4.4% from 3.7%. The CPI indicator in March was 113.5 from 112.9. The RPIX went up from 4.2% in February to 4.8% in March.

Housing and household services made the most difference to the annual CPI with an increase this year after a fall last year. The main difference was made by domestic gas because average bills were unchanged this year between February and March but fell last year. Transport also made a large contribution from fuels and lubricants, increasing by 2.7% between February and March, and air fares on European and long-haul flights. Falling prices for second-hand cars partially offset these upward effects. Other large upward contributions came from food and clothing. The only large downward contribution came from furniture and furnishings.

Retail Sales Up In February

The value of retail sales rose by 4.9% this year as against February 2009. The index was 114.4 compared with 112.3 in January. There was an increase of 1.9% on last month and 3.8% on the last three months. If fuel is excluded the increase was 5.3%. The volume of retail sales rose by 3.5% compared with February 2009. The index was 112.1 and 114.3 excluding fuel. The increase on last month was 2.1% and 1.6% on the previous three months. If fuel is excluded the increase in volume was 5.4% (Figures seasonally adjusted). The deflator was 1.6 and excluding fuel it was -0.1.

Looking at the data in more detail, the predominantly food stores increased their sales value by 0.9% on last year and non-food stores increased value by 8.1%. Non-specialised stores increased by 9.1%, textile, clothing and footwear increased by 6.5% and other stores by 11.1%. Household goods increased sales value by 5.4% over the year and a record 9.7% month on month. Non-store retailing increased by a record 21.2% on last year. Auto fuel was 1.5% up on last year.

The 3.5% increase in volume was mainly due to an increase in non-store retailing of 20.4%, non-food stores at 8.4% within which non-specialised and other stores increased by 9.7% and textile, clothing and footwear increased by 9.5%. Household goods increased in volume by 4.4% over the year and by 11.2 on last month, the highest monthly increase on record. These increases in volume were offset by automotive fuel which was 15.7% lower than last year. Prices of retail sales were estimated to be 1.6% higher than February 2009.

Internet retail sales average weekly value was £414m or about 8% of all retail sales, excluding fuel. The total value of retail sales in February was estimated to be £22.9bn. The estimated weekly value of retail sales in February was £5.7bn (Figures not seasonally adjusted).

High Street Building Up To Christmas

The CBI report retailers are enjoying an early build up to Christmas with the third successive month of growth in sales. The Distributive Trades survey suggests sales have grown over last year and could grow still more before the end of the month. Sales for the time of year are below seasonal norms and described as poor by some retailers.

Stock levels remain almost unchanged from November but the volume of orders rose again but at a slower rate than expected. Orders are expected to flatten in the New Year, as are sales.

The highest rates of growth were in the grocery, durable household goods, footwear and leather and furniture and carpets. Booksellers and stationers saw a reversal of their recent growth and there was a fall in sales at the chemists.

Industrial materials reported an change for the better as fourteen months of falling sales ended with a flat month. Clothing, textiles and footwear wholesalers saw their best sales growth since 2004.

There was a second month of growth for motor traders who expect that to contiue into the New Year due to the scrappage scheme. Sales for the month were said to be above average.