Welcome to the Office for National Statistics

Business visits to the UK have grown 10% in the three months February to April 2013 compared with a year earlier, and are up by 7% in the year to date (January to April) compared to 2012.

The unemployment rate was 7.8%, unchanged on the quarter. There were 2.51 million unemployed people, down 5,000 on the quarter.

Production output fell by 0.6% in April 2013, compared with April 2012. Manufacturing output fell by 0.5% in April 2013, compared with April 2012.

The UK’s deficit on seasonally adjusted trade in goods and services was £2.6 billion in April 2013.  The deficit on trade in goods was £8.2 billion. The surplus on trade in services was estimated at £5.6 billion.

This Review draws together key economic stories from National Statistics produced over the last month. The long-term focus of this edition is an international comparison of recessions.