Key Statistics: 24 March 2015

Construction

• The 2014 Q4 HBF/Glenigan Housing Pipeline found that permissions in principle for over 195,000 new homes in England were granted in 2014, up 12% on the previous year and 39% on 2012. The number of permissions for private homes was up 23%.

Economy

• The UK unemployment rate was 5.7% during the three months to January, down from 6.0% in the previous three months and 7.2% at this stage a year ago. Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by an estimated 1.6% compared to a year ago, representing a real rise in wages due to current low inflation, which stood at 0.3% in January according to the CPI measure.
• During the current tax year so far, government borrowing has fallen by £8.8 billion, according to the ONS. From April 2014 to February 2015, public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks (PSNB ex) was £81.8 billion; a decrease of £8.8 billion compared with the same period in 2013/14. The running total has been boosted by rising income tax receipts from self-assessment in January and February.