Monthly Inquiry into the Production Industries

The Monthly Inquiry into the Production Industries (MPI) collects information on turnover and employees from UK businesses in the production industries.

MPI results give an early indication of what is happening in the economy, and are used to produce a number of key economic measures, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Index of Production (IoP) . Both GDP and IoP are widely used by the Bank of England and HM Treasury to monitor and forecast economic growth, and to inform vital policy decisions. They are also used by various Trade Associations when making international comparisons.

The quarterly employment information is used to estimate the change in the number of employees in the production industries, and to measure demand in the labour market. These estimates are used to monitor the economy at a detailed, industry level by HM Treasury, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Eurostat.

From January 2010 this survey has been merged with the Monthly Inquiries into the Distribution and Services Sector to form the Monthly Business Survey (Production and Services).