RSS Feeds
South East Economy Review - October 2008
The current economic climate ias having a profound effect on the region's businesses, policy makers and individual lives. SEEDA's Research and Economics Team publish the South East Economic Review on a quarterly basis to provide understanding about the South East economy, changes over time and what the forecasts may look like.
The headlines from October include:
- At UK level, growth in GDP came to a halt in the second quarter of 2008. Total production output declined in both quarters one and two, while growth in the service sector slowed to just 0.2 percent in quarter two. The credit crunch continues to persist.
- With commodity prices rising and the credit crunch persisting, a number of major global economies, including the Euro area and Japan, have seen falling output growth in the second quarter of 2008. In the US, however, output growth expanded strongly in this period, largely driven by an increase in exports.
- Over the year to August 2008 a sharp rise in food, energy and transport costs helped to push UK inflation to 4.7 per cent – more than twice the Bank of England inflation target. Rising costs are putting pressure on business prospects in the South East, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Businesses are responding either by squeezing profit margins or passing higher costs on to customers.
- The latest survey evidence points to a sharp slowdown in business activity and new orders at both national and regional level in recent months. Business activity showed little if any growth in the South East in June and July, with a majority of firms in the service sector reporting contraction in their business activity. New orders declined at the fastest rate in almost seven years, although the rate of contraction in the region was less severe than elsewhere in the UK. A small increase in business activity was recorded in August.
Dated 30/09/2008
Owning Organisation
South East England Development Agency - http://www.seeda.co.uk
Data Type
Research Report
Spatial Coverage
South East
Theme
Economy, Society