Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators: 23 July 2026

In June 2026:

• Consumer activity slowed as retail footfall fell and seasonally adjusted Revolut debit card spending remained broadly unchanged, compared with May 2026; average Direct Debit transaction values and failure rates increased, compared with the previous month and with the previous year (BT Active Intelligence, Revolut, Vocalink and Pay.UK).

• Labour market indicators were mixed, with a sharp decrease in the number of potential redundancies, compared with both May 2026 and June 2025; the number of new online job adverts fell, compared with June 2025 (Insolvency Service HR1 forms, Textkernel).

• A similar proportion of businesses reported increases and decreases in turnover compared with the previous month, indicating a slight weakening from May 2026 (HM Revenue and Customs Value Added Tax returns).

• Wholesale energy prices decreased, compared with May 2026, but remained notably higher than June 2025 as markets continued to respond to the conflict in the Middle East (National Gas Transmission, Elexon).

• Transport indicators were largely stable, compared with the previous month; UK flights remained broadly unchanged and ship visits to major UK ports saw a 1% increase (EUROCONTROL, exactEarth).

• New vehicle registrations increased by 4%, compared with May 2026, and increased by 11%, compared with June 2025 (The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders).

• The number of new listings for property sales decreased and the average time on market increased, compared with May 2026; the number of Energy Performance Building Certificates (EPCs) lodged in England and Wales for new dwellings decreased by 4% (Rightmove, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).

Housing market insights

We have introduced Rightmove housing data to our Real Time Indicators publication this week. These data are provided by Rightmove and are available for both house rentals and house sales. Data for the rental market include new listings for property rentals. Data for the sales market include new listings for property sales and average time on the market.

Data are available at weekly and monthly frequencies, along with UK countries and English regions. The full data are available in our accompanying dataset. 

The Rightmove data used in this release can be used as an indicator of changes in housing supply and demand. They are official statistics in development (as explained in our guide to official statistics in development).

Further details on the methods used to compile these estimates are available in our Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators methodology.

Housing market: rentals

The seasonally adjusted number of new rental listings increased by 1% in June 2026, compared with May 2026, and increased by 7%, compared with June 2025.

The largest month-on-month increase in new rental listings was in Wales (14%), followed by Yorkshire and The Humber (9%). Two regions (includes UK countries and English regions) saw month-on-month decreases – East Midlands and Scotland, which fell by 2% and 1%, respectively.

The largest year-on-year increase in new rental listings was in Wales, up 27% in June 2026, compared with June 2025. The only area to see a decrease over this period was Scotland, where the number of new rental listings decreased by 2%.

Housing market: sales

The seasonally adjusted number of new listings for property sales decreased by 2% in June 2026, compared with May 2026, and decreased by 5%, compared with June 2025.

The largest decrease month-on-month was in the North East, where the number of new listings for property sales fell by 6%.

New sales listings decreased in all regions (includes UK countries and English regions), compared with June 2025. The largest decrease was in Wales (down 10%), followed by London and the North East, which both fell by 7%.

The seasonally adjusted average time on market for property sales increased by 1% to 68 days in June 2026, compared with May 2026. The average time on market increased by 3%, compared with June 2025.

The longest average time on market for property sales was in London (76 days) and the shortest was in Scotland (36 days) in June 2026.

The largest month-on-month increase in the average time on the market in June 2026 was in the West Midlands, up 5% compared with May 2026.

The largest year-on-year increase was in London, where the average time on market for property sales increased by 9%, compared with June 2025. Scotland and Wales were the only areas to see reductions over this period, falling 5% and 4%, respectively.

Energy Performance Building Certificates

The seasonally adjusted number Energy Performance Building Certificates (EPCs) lodged in England and Wales for new dwellings decreased by 4% in June 2026, compared with the previous month, and decreased by 2%, compared with June 2025.

The seasonally adjusted number of EPCs lodged in England and Wales for existing dwellings increased by 2% in June 2026, compared with the previous month, but decreased by 31%, compared with June 2025, when a housing association lodged a very large number of expired EPCs.

Our accompanying Energy Performance Building Certificates (EPC) dataset and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's Weekly EPCs for domestic properties dataset are available.

June 2026 saw reduced consumer activity, compared with May 2026. This potentially reflects a response to the extended heatwave in the second half of the month and rare Red Warnings for Extreme Heat.

UK retail footfall

UK retail footfall decreased by 8% in June 2026, compared with May 2026, and decreased by 1%, compared with June 2025.

Footfall decreased in district or local centres by 7% in June 2026, compared with May 2026, but rose slightly, by 1%, compared with a year earlier. Footfall at retail parks decreased by 8%, compared with both the previous month and the previous year. Town and city centres experienced a 9% decrease in footfall, compared with the previous month, but stayed unchanged from a year earlier.

Footfall decreased in all 11 regions (including Great Britain countries and English regions), compared with May 2026. This ranged from the highest decrease of 10% in the South East, South West and West Midlands to the lowest decrease of 7% in London.

Footfall fell in almost all nations and regions, except for Scotland, which remained flat, and London, which rose by 8%, compared with June 2025. The regions with the largest declines were Wales, West Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber, which fell by 7%.

Data for Northern Ireland were unavailable.

Figure 4: UK retail footfall fell across the country in June 2026, compared with May 2026, and fell in all regions except London, compared with a year earlier

Change in retail footfall by region, UK, June 2026, non-seasonally adjusted

Notes:

1. Details of the methods used to compile these data are available in the BT Active Intelligence methodology. 
2. Caution is advised when interpreting month-on-month changes, which are affected by calendar variation, including the number of days in a month. 
3. Values for Northern Ireland have been suppressed subject to further quality assurance processes. 
4. Data are available in further detail, broken down by region and site type, in our accompanying UK retail footfall dataset.

Revolut spending on debit cards

Seasonally adjusted Revolut debit card spending remained broadly stable in June 2026, compared with May 2026. Decreases were seen in four of the nine spend categories, with the biggest change seen in "Restaurants", which fell by 3% from a large increase the previous month.

Seasonally adjusted Revolut debit card spending increased by 7%, increasing in all nine spend categories, compared with June 2025. The largest increases were in "Services" (12%) and "Entertainment" (11%).

Our accompanying Revolut spending on debit cards dataset is available.

Automotive fuel spending

The annual growth rate for the average price of fuel decreased by 2 index points in June 2026, compared with the previous month. The growth rate increased by 32 index points, compared with June 2025.

The annual growth rate for the demand of automotive fuel decreased by 1 and 15 index points when compared with May 2026 and June 2025, respectively.

This change in fuel price and demand reflects the effects of the conflict in the Middle East, which has affected supply chains and confidence, leading to higher global oil prices.

Monthly Direct Debit average transaction amount and failure rate

The seasonally adjusted total Direct Debit average transaction amount increased by 1% in June 2026, compared with May 2026. "Loans" increased by 5% over this period and "Electricity and gas" increased by 1%. All other categories were broadly unchanged.

The seasonally adjusted total Direct Debit average transaction amount increased by 3% in June 2026, compared with June 2025. The "Water" category had the largest year-on-year increase, rising by 10%. The only decrease was in "Electricity and gas", which fell by 3% over this period.

The seasonally adjusted Direct Debit failure rate increased from 2.2% in June 2025 to 2.4% in June 2026 – an increase of 7%.

The largest increases over this period were for "Loans" (11%) and "Electricity and gas" (10%).

For further details on what is covered within this indicator, see our Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators methodology.

Our accompanying Monthly Direct Debit failure rate and average transaction amount dataset is available.

A similar proportion of businesses reported increases and decreases in turnover in June 2026, compared with the previous month, while the number of potential redundancies fell sharply.

Value Added Tax flash estimates

Turnover diffusion indices are an aggregate measure used to track whether most firms are reporting an increase or decrease in turnover in their Value Added Tax (VAT) returns.

Figure 7: The number of firms reporting an increased turnover in June 2026 was broadly equal to the number reporting a decreased turnover; this net difference was 1 percentage point lower than in May 2026

Weighted Value Added Tax (VAT) month-on-month turnover diffusion indices, UK, January 2023 to June 2026, seasonally adjusted

Notes:

1. These data are current price, so may reflect elements of inflation.
2. The shaded areas represent the 95% confidence limits.
3. The confidence limits are 1.96 standard deviations of the seasonally adjusted series, centred around zero. If a data point is outside of these limits, it is a statistically significant difference.

The number of firms reporting an increased turnover was broadly equal to the number reporting a decreased turnover in June 2026. This net difference was 1 percentage point lower than May 2026 and was within normal month-on-month variation.

In the services sector – the largest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) – the number of firms reporting an increased turnover was broadly equal to number reporting a decreased turnover, compared with the previous month. This net difference was 2 percentage points lower than in May 2026.

In the production sector, a net 2% of firms reported an increased turnover in June 2026, which is up 3 percentage points, compared with May 2026.

In the construction sector, a net 1% of firms reported a decrease in turnover in June 2026, which was 1 percentage point lower than May 2026.

In the agriculture sector, a net 1% of firms reported a decrease in turnover, which was 2 percentage points higher than May 2026.

For all these sectors, diffusion indices in June 2026 were within their respective limits of normal month-on-month variation.

More information on the compilation and methodology of these estimates can be found in our Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators methodology.

Our accompanying Value Added Tax (VAT) flash estimates dataset is available.

New online job adverts

The total number of new online job adverts decreased by 8% and fell in 23 of the 26 occupational groups in June 2026, compared with June 2025.

The three occupational groups that saw the largest percentage decrease in June 2026, when compared with June 2025, were:

• "Textiles, printing and other skilled trades", which decreased by 24%

• "Health professionals", which decreased by 24%

• "Skilled agricultural and related trades", which decreased by 23%

In June 2026, the number of new online job adverts decreased in 9 of the 12 regions (includes UK countries and English regions), compared with June 2025. The largest percentage decreases were in London and the North East, which fell by 20% and 17%, respectively.

Details on the methods used to compile these estimates are available in our Measuring labour demand volumes across the UK using Textkernel data user guide. 

Our accompanying Textkernel new online job adverts dataset is available, or for further tables using similar methodology and sources by local authority and 4-digit SOC, see the Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupational Classification datasets that will be updated on 24 July 2026.

Advanced notification of potential redundancies

The number of potential redundancies decreased by 31% in June 2026, compared with May 2026. This decrease follows a sharp increase in May 2026. The number of employers proposing redundancies decreased by 8% in June 2026, compared with May 2026.

The number of potential redundancies decreased by 8%, and the number of employers proposing redundancies decreased by 1%, compared with June 2025.

The "Transport and Communication" and "Banking and Finance" industries comprised 29% and 23%, respectively, of all potential redundancies in June 2026.

For more information, our accompanying Advanced notification of potential redundancies weekly dataset is available. Industry and regional breakdowns by month are available in our monthly potential redundancies dataset.

Industry-to-industry interbank payment flows

Monthly industry-to-industry payments flows are anonymised, aggregated Bacs Payment System (Bacs) Direct Debit, Bacs Direct Credit, and Faster Payment System (FPS) payments.

Further information on this indicator can be found in our Industry-to-industry payment flows, UK: 2019 to 2025 article and its accompanying quality and methodology information.

This month we have examined payments from the "Public houses and bars" industry (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 56302) to manufacturers and wholesalers of alcoholic beverages. These include the following industries:

• "Manufacture of wine from grape" (SIC 11020)

• "Manufacture of cider and other fruit wines" (SIC 11030)

• "Manufacture of beer" (SIC 11050)

• "Wholesale of wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic beverages" (SIC 46342)

Between March 2026 and June 2026, the total value of payments increased by 17%, coinciding with the warmer summer months.

The value of payments to manufacturers and wholesalers of alcoholic beverages fell by 4% when comparing payment flows from pubs and bars in June 2026 with June 2025.

These payment flows reflect when invoices are settled, rather than when alcoholic beverages were sold. Larger public houses and bars operators typically trade on extended credit terms with wide settlement windows. Effects from events such as the World Cup, which started in the second half of June, may be spread across adjacent months or be only partially captured within the event window. The potential impact of the World Cup on these payment flows may be more evident in the July 2026 data to be published next month.

Wholesale energy prices decreased in June 2026 but have since risen again as markets respond to the renewed conflict in the Middle East.

System Average Price of gas and System Price of electricity

The System Average Price of gas decreased by 7% in June 2026, compared with May 2026, but increased by 26%, compared with June 2025. In the week up to and including 19 July 2026, the System Average Price of Gas was 4.569p/kWh, which is an increase of 32% since the end of June 2026.

The System Price of electricity decreased by 5% in June 2026, compared with May 2026. This was an increase of 41%, compared with June 2025.

Since the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East over the last two weeks, we have seen an increase of 13% in the System Price of Electricity, compared with the end of June 2026. The price stood at 11.073p/kWh in the week up to and including 19 July 2026.

Changes in the System Average Price (SAP) of gas and the System Price of electricity are considered by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) when setting the energy price caps for the next three months. Large changes in these prices can indicate that the future price cap set by Ofgem will change.

Our accompanying System Average Price of gas dataset and System Price of electricity dataset are available.

New vehicle registrations

The seasonally adjusted number of new vehicle registrations (cars and light commercial vehicles) increased by 4% in June 2026, compared with May 2026, and increased by 11%, compared with June 2025.

Business cars recorded the largest month-on-month percentage increase in new registrations, rising by 17%, while private cars saw the smallest increase, at 1%. Registrations of business cars increased by 21%, while private car registrations rose by 13%, compared with June 2025.

Looking at seasonally adjusted new car registrations by fuel type in June 2026, compared with May 2026:

• hybrid electric vehicle registrations rose by 10%

• battery electric vehicle registrations rose by 6%

• plug-in hybrid electric vehicle registrations fell by 3%

• diesel car registrations fell by 7%

New car registrations increased across all electric vehicle categories, when compared with June 2025. The strongest growth was seen in battery electric vehicles (34%), followed by hybrid electric vehicles (28%) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (24%). In contrast, diesel and petrol car registrations decreased by 23% and 4%, respectively, over the same period. Electric vehicles comprised 55% of all new car registrations in June 2026, which is up from 47% in June 2025.

Our accompanying UK new vehicle registrations and production dataset is available.

UK flights

The seasonally adjusted number of UK flights remained broadly unchanged in June 2026, compared with the previous month, but increased by 1%, compared with June 2025.

Our accompanying Daily UK flights dataset is available.

Shipping

The seasonally adjusted total number of ship visits to selected UK ports increased by 1% in June 2026, compared with the previous month. The number of cargo and tanker visits also increased by 1%, and other ship visits increased by 2%, over this period.

The seasonally adjusted total number of ship visits decreased by 3%, with cargo and tanker visits decreasing by 4% and other ship visits decreasing by 1%, compared with June 2025.

Our accompanying Weekly shipping indicators dataset is available.

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 estimates, which represent useful economic and social concepts.

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonal adjustment is the identification and removal of consistent and systematic variation in time series associated with the time of year. For more information on seasonal variation, and how we implement seasonal adjustment, see Section 2 of our Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators methodology.

About the statistics

Strengths and limitations

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

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.

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.

About the data sources

Dataset release dates and intended release frequency

Latest release dates and intended release frequency of our associated datasets are available in this section. Please note that there may be some change to the intended release frequency for a variety of reasons, such as data availability. If you would like further information about any of these datasets, or previous release dates, please email realtime.indicators@ons.gov.uk.

Weekly data release

• Revolut spending on debit cards dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Automotive fuel spending dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• UK retail footfall dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Advanced notification of potential redundancies dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• System Average Price of gas dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• System Price of electricity dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Energy Performance Building Certificates (EPC) dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Weekly shipping indicators dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Daily UK flights dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Housing market insights dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

Monthly data release

• Monthly Direct Debit failure rate and average transaction amount dataset; updated 16 July 2026.

• Textkernel new online job adverts dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• Value Added Tax (VAT) flash estimates dataset; updated 16 July 2026.

• Renter affordability for new tenancies dataset; updated 23 July 2026.

• UK new vehicle registration and production dataset; updated 9 July 2026.

• Industry-to-industry payment flows, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2, dataset; updated 16 July 2026.

• Industry-to-industry payment flows, SIC5, dataset; updated 16 July 2026.

• Region-to-region organisation payment flows dataset, updated 16 July 2026.

• Industry-to-industry payment flows by region dataset; updated 16 July 2026.

Statistical designation

These statistics are labelled as official statistics in development. Until September 2023, these were called "experimental statistics". Read more about the change in our Guide to official statistics in development.

We are developing how we collect and produce the data to improve the quality of these statistics. Find out more in our Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators methodology.

Once the developments are complete, we will review the statistics with the Statistics Head of Profession. We will decide if the statistics are of sufficient quality and value to be published as official statistics, or if further development is needed. Production may be stopped if they are not of sufficient quality or value. Users will be informed of the outcome and any changes.

We value your feedback on these statistics. If you would like to get in touch, please email realtime.indicators@ons.gov.uk.