Agents' Summary of Business Conditions - June 2007

We regularly publish a summary of reports compiled by our twelve regional Agents following discussions with at least 700 businesses across the UK every reporting period.

Published on 19 June 2007

Consumption growth remained strong overall, though discretionary spending appeared to ease.
Demand for housing was firm nationally, but a little more disparate across regions.
Investment intentions strengthened further.
Demand for exports remained buoyant overall, though orders were weaker from the United States.
Growth in manufacturing remained solid, supported by increases in both external and domestic demand.
Output in the construction and service sectors continued to expand at a strong pace.
Employment intentions were high, with labour demand strongest in the service sector. And recruitment difficulties became more pronounced in most regions.
Capacity pressures persisted, especially in the construction and service sectors, but also became more
evident in manufacturing.
Growth in pay awards increased modestly. Other forms of employee compensation continued to drive somewhat stronger annual growth in total labour costs than indicated by official data.
Annual input price inflation increased again in the month, and output price inflation edged up. And there was more evidence of margin rebuilding.
Annual consumer price inflation remained relatively high.