In this section

  • UK businesses registered for VAT and PAYE with regional breakdowns, including data on size (employment and turnover) and activity (type of industry), research and development, and business services.

  • UK business growth, survival and change over time. These figures are an informal indicator of confidence in the UK economy.

  • Construction of new buildings and repairs or alterations to existing properties in Great Britain measured by the amount charged for the work, including work by civil engineering companies.

  • Trade in goods and services across the UK's international borders, including total imports and exports, the types of goods and services traded and general trends in international trade.

  • Internet sales by businesses in the UK (total value and as a percentage of all retail sales) and the percentage of businesses that have a website and broadband connection. These figures indicate the importance of the internet to UK businesses.

  • UK manufacturing and other production industries (such as mining and quarrying, energy supply, water supply and waste management), including total UK production output, and UK manufactures' sales by product and industrial division, with EU comparisons.

  • Sales by retailers in Great Britain directly to end consumers, including spending on goods (in store and online) (Retail Sales Index) and spending on services (Index of Services). The industry as a whole is used as an indicator of how the wider economy is performing and the strength of consumer spending.

  • Tourism and travel (including accommodation services, food and beverage services, passenger transport services, vehicle hire, travel agencies and sports, recreational and conference services), employment levels and output of the tourism industry, the number of visitors to the UK and the amount they spend.