Short-term output indicators: April to June 2021

Data showing the short term movements in the output of industries in the production, construction and market services sectors for April to June 2021.

Impact of coronavirus

These estimates cover April to June 2021 which was during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Annual estimates for July 2020 to June 2021 are also included which was during the pandemic period.

Care should be taken when interpreting these indices, estimates for individual quarters can fluctuate and it is recommended that emphasis is based on longer term trends.

Estimates for Wales are typically more volatile than the UK, and as a result comparison between the two should be made with caution, especially over the shorter term.

Main points

This chart shows the time series for the indices of production, construction, and market services since 1999. The overall trend is the index of market services and index of production have generally increased since 1999, but the index of construction has fluctuated over the same time period.

Two of the three indices increased on an annual basis (the latest four quarters compared to the previous four quarters) for Wales. On a quarterly basis all three indices showed increases. This follows a period of change with the largest quarterly decreases on record in April to June 2020 (which included part of the initial lockdown period) and the subsequent largest increases on record during July to September 2020 (reflecting the easing of restrictions over the summer months).

Index of Market Services

Compared to the previous quarter, the index of market services increased by 3.6% in Wales and by 5.6% in the UK.

The increase in Wales was largely accounted for by an increase in Distribution.

The longer-term trends show a 3.4% increase for Wales and a 1.8% decrease for the UK in the year to June 2021, compared with the previous twelve months.

In Wales, six of the nine Market Service industry indices increased on an annual basis.

Index of Production

The Index of Production for Wales shows a 4.7% increase when compared to the previous quarter. UK output increased by 1.0% over the same period.

The longer-term trend for Wales shows a 0.6% decrease in the year to June 2021 on an annual basis. UK output increased by 1. 8% over the same period.

Index of Construction

The Index of Construction for Wales shows a 0.5% increase when comparing the latest quarter to the previous quarter. UK output increased by 3.8% over the same period.

The longer-term trend for Wales shows a 10.3% increase in the year to June 2021 on an annual basis. UK output increased by 4.1% over the same period.

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