Economic Indicators, October 2010

This Research Paper series summarises the main economic indicators currently available for the UK, along with comparisons with other major OECD countries.
Employment in the three months to July 2010 was 286,000 higher than the previous quarter, mainly due to an increase in part-time employment. This is the largest quarterly increase in employment since records began in 1971.
GDP growth in Q2 2010 was confirmed at 1.2%, the fastest quarterly increase in national output since 2001.
Manufacturing output continues to recover strongly, increasing by 4.9% in the year to July, although employment in the sector fell.
[Articles: ‘Saving the Economy?’ and ‘Comparing earnings in the public and private sector’]