#HereForBusiness: News Roundup – 16/06/2023

The UK economy grew modestly, wage growth soared, and Greater Manchester’s frontline transport services received more support.

Here are this week’s main business and economic stories:

• The UK economy returned to growth in April, following a 0.3 percent contraction in March. Provisional figures published on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.2 percent in April. This rise was largely driven by a 0.3 percent expansion of the services sector and 1 percent growth in consumer-facing services. However, somewhat surprisingly, the construction and production sectors both shrank – by 0.6 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Looking at the broader picture, GDP grew by 0.1 percent in the three months to April.
• ONS data also revealed that UK wages increased during the same period. Growth in workers’ average total pay, which includes bonuses, was 6.5 percent. Growth in regular pay, a category which excludes bonuses, was 7.2 percent – the highest rate recorded outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regular pay growth stood at 7.6 percent in the private sector, with the finance and business services sector enjoying the biggest gains at 9.2 percent. In contrast, regular pay in the public sector grew by 5.6 percent. While analysts expect such figures to add further pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates in a bid to control soaring prices, it should be noted that wages actually fell when adjusted for inflation. To be sure, total and regular pay dropped in real terms.
• Meanwhile, a leading intergovernmental organisation predicted that demand for oil will rise over the next five years. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) most recent Oil Market Report (OMR) suggested that demand for the world’s most important fossil fuel would reach 105 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2028 – a six percent increase on 2022 and a historic high. The report added that much of this demand would come from the petrochemical and aviation sectors, which would fill the gap left by transportation. With the transition to cleaner technologies such as electrical vehicles speeding up, the IEA said it expected global demand for road vehicle gasoline to peak this year, while general transport fuels will follow the same trajectory after 2026.
• Finally, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will receive an additional £18 million in funding until March 2024. According to the Department for Transport, the new financial settlement is aimed at helping the region’s passenger transportation network recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Delivery of the funds is dependent on TfGM outlining “a pathway to financial sustainability as committed to in the Trailblazer Devolution Bill”, which bolstered the mayor’s influence over local transport policy.

If you run a small or medium-sized business in Greater Manchester and want to understand how the present and future economic climate might impact your operations and revenue, GC Business Growth Hub’s #HereForBusiness package provides practical guidance and expert advice on a range of topics to help you manage the increasing cost of doing business.

To this end, next week, we are running a series of drop-in sessions across the region:

Find out more by browsing our resources, from events, blog posts, and factsheets to news updates and webinars.  

If you have any questions, get in touch now.

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#HereForBusiness is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.