Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators: 28 July 2022

• Consumer behaviour indicators mostly showed decreased activity in the latest week, with UK credit and debit card purchases falling by 2 percentage points, “park” visits decreased by 7%, following the end of the period of exceptionally warm weather across the UK, and there were falls in the number of transactions across most Pret A Manger locations (Bank of England CHAPS data, Google Mobility, Pret A Manger). Section 3.

• Revolut debit card transaction data showed spending on “automotive fuel” increased by 14 percentage points in the week to 24 July 2022 compared with the previous week, this is up 48 percentage points from the same time the previous year (Revolut). See the accompanying dataset.

• In the week ending 24 July 2022, the seasonally adjusted average counts of traffic camera activity for cars in London and the North East were unchanged from the previous week, at 114% and 99% of their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level, respectively (Transport for London, North East Traffic Cameras). Section 4.

• The total volume of online job adverts on 22 July 2022 rose by 1% in the latest week and was 96% of the level in the equivalent day of 2021; percentage growth among industry categories varied with the largest week-on-week rise in "IT, computing and software" (6%) offset by a similar fall in "education" (7%) (Adzuna). See the accompanying dataset.

• Of businesses not permanently stopped trading, 26% cited price inflation as their main concern for August 2022, and 20% cited energy prices; the percentage of businesses reporting no concerns was down from 24% for July 2022 to 21% for August 2022 (final results from Wave 61 of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS)).

• The System Average Price (SAP) of gas was unchanged from the previous week at 49% of the peak level seen on 10 March 2022 (National Grid). See the accompanying dataset.

Notes:

1. The break in the available shipping data (from 14 to 19 June 2021) is when the data collection system changed.
2. Shipping data for 9 to 21 May 2022 have been removed because of technical issues.
3. Revolut adjustments to user count are at an aggregate level and as such, age bands may not adjust evenly.
4. Users should note that card spending over-time is pushed upwards by the impacts of both inflation on value of transactions, and cash-to-card conversion.

Google Mobility data showed that visits to "parks" decreased by 7% in the week to 22 July 2022 and was 68% of its pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level. This coincides with the exceptionally hot weather experienced in the UK. Meanwhile, "retail and recreation", "grocery and pharmacy" and "workplace" visits remained broadly similar to the previous week. Our accompanying dataset is available.

Revolut debit card transaction data showed spending on "automotive fuel" increased by 14 percentage points in the week to 24 July 2022 compared with the previous week. This is up 48 percentage points from the same time the previous year. Spending in other sectors remained stable compared with the previous week or showed a small increase, the largest change being in the "entertainment" sector (up 2 percentage points). Our accompanying dataset is available.

In the week to 21 July 2022, the aggregate CHAPS-based indicator of credit and debit card purchases decreased by 2 percentage points. The "delayable" and "work-related" categories fell by 6 and 4 percentage points, respectively. Meanwhile, "staple" and "social" spending remained broadly unchanged from the previous week. Our accompanying dataset is available.

Pret A Manger transactions decreased in all locations apart from London airports in the week to 21 July 2022. The largest decreases were in the West End of London and suburban areas of London, falling 10 and 6 percentage points, respectively. Pret A Manger transactions in London airports increased by 4 percentage points in the week to 21 July 2022, while transactions at London and regional stations both fell by 12 percentage points. Our accompanying dataset is available.

OpenTable data showed the seven-day average estimate of UK seated diners remained broadly similar in the week to 24 July 2022. Large falls were seen on 18 and 19 July 2022, coinciding with the exceptionally warm weather across the UK.

Total ship visits were broadly unchanged compared with the previous week, while cargo and tanker visits fell by 6%. Our accompanying dataset is available.

Daily UK flight numbers were broadly unchanged from the previous week and were at 85% of the level compared with the equivalent week of 2019. The level of flights has remained around this level for thirteen consecutive weeks, since the week ending 1 May 2022. Our accompanying dataset is available.

Road traffic on Monday 25 July 2022 increased by 2 percentage points compared with the previous week to 98% of the level seen on the Monday of the first week in February 2020. There were week-on-week increases in all vehicle type traffic except heavy goods vehicles (HGVs),  which were broadly unchanged.

In the week ending 24 July 2022, the seasonally adjusted average count of traffic camera activity for cars in London was unchanged from the previous week, at 114% of its pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level. The equivalent figure for the North East was also broadly unchanged from the previous week, at 99% of its pre-coronavirus pandemic level. Our accompanying dataset is available.

Users should note that this section lists a selection of the data available with this publication. For the full list of available datasets please see the accompanying dataset page.

Real-time indicator

A real-time indicator provides insights into economic activity using close-to-real-time big data, administrative data sources, rapid response surveys or Experimental Statistics, which represent useful economic and social concepts.

Information on the methodology used to produce the indicators in this bulletin is available in the Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators methodology.

These statistics have been produced to provide timely indicators of the effect of developing world events on the UK economy and society, using close-to-real-time big data, administrative data sources, rapid response surveys or Experimental Statistics.

The data presented in this bulletin are reviewed and refreshed on a regular basis. Indicators are swapped in and out of the publication based on their suitability and availability.

UK coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions

A full overview of coronavirus restrictions for each of the four UK constituent countries can be found:

• coronavirus in England

• coronavirus in Scotland

• coronavirus in Wales

• coronavirus in Northern Ireland

These restrictions should be considered when interpreting the data featured throughout this bulletin.

Seasonality

Seasonal fluctuations are likely to be present in many of these indicators so caution must be applied when interpreting changes in series that are not seasonally adjusted.