Index of Production, UK: September 2022

• Monthly production output rose by 0.2% between August and September 2022 and is now 0.3% above February 2020, which was the last month of "normal" trading conditions before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• The monthly rise in output resulted from strength in three of the four production sectors, with electricity and gas growing by 1.5%, mining and quarrying by 0.7%, and water supply and sewerage by 0.3%, while manufacturing remained flat.

• Manufacturing saw 10 of its 13 sub-sectors negatively contributing to growth during September as the manufacture of basic metals and metal products contributed negative 0.28 percentage points to the Index of Production (IoP) (with growth falling by 3.4%), manufacture of chemicals and chemical products contributed negative 0.14 percentage points (with growth falling by 3.0%), and manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products contributed negative 0.12 percentage points (with growth falling by 2.7%).

• Partially offsetting the negative growth in manufacturing was a positive contribution of 0.50 percentage points (with growth rising by 9.3%) from basic pharmaceutical products.

• Output remained below the February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in the mining and quarrying sector (13.5% below) and the manufacturing sector (1.5% below).

• In contrast, water supply and sewerage, and electricity and gas were above the February 2020 level, at 13.9% and 10.6%, respectively.

• Production output for Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2022 fell by 1.5%, compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2022, with falls in manufacturing (2.3%), water supply and sewerage (1.4%), and mining and quarrying (1.0%), while  electricity and gas rose by 2.6%.

• Further analysis of the effect on our monthly IoP estimate is available in our Gross domestic product (GDP) monthly estimate, UK: September 2022 bulletin, published 11 November 2022.

The Index of Production (IoP) uses data from a variety of sources. It is calculated by taking turnover and removing the impact of price changes, or by using direct volume estimates.

Most of these data are collected as "turnover values" through the Monthly Business Survey (MBS). In addition, direct volume series are collected by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and the International Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB) for steel industries.

From January 2018, value added tax (VAT) data have also been included across 64 production industries for small- and medium-sized businesses. For more information, see our VAT turnover data in National Accounts: background and methodology article.

A comprehensive list of the IoP source data can be found in our Gross domestic product (GDP) source catalogue.

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our UK Index of Production Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Monthly Business Survey (MBS) is fully online. Business owners can log on from any location and submit their data at an appropriate time. Most other data in the IoP come from the BEIS, and therefore will be less affected than the survey data.

Our latest data and analysis on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK economy and population are available on our Coronavirus (COVID-19) data and analysis web page. This is the hub for all special coronavirus-related publications, including the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).

Economic statistics governance after EU exit

Following the UK's exit from the EU, new governance arrangements are being put in place. These will support the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards for UK economic statistics. These governance arrangements will promote international comparability and add to the credibility and independence of the UK's statistical system.

At the centre of this new governance framework, there will be the new National Statistician's Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE). NSCASE will support the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world leading. The advice that NSCASE provides to the National Statistician will span the full range of domains in economic statistics, including:

• the national accounts

• fiscal statistics

• prices

• trade and the balance of payments

• labour market statistics

You can access further information on the NSCASE on the UK Statistics Authority's website.