Key Statistics: 24 November 2015

Construction

• 80% of architecture and building and 77% of civil engineering graduates in the 2013/14 academic were in employment within six months of graduating, according to the latest What do graduates do? survey. These employment rates have increased from 74% and 72% respectively since 2011/12, the first year for which data is available. The proportion unemployed also declined once more for graduates of both disciplines. As the chart below shows, this rate has more than halved since peaking for graduates entering the labour force in the summer of 2009.

Economy

• Manufacturers are increasingly pessimistic about their prospects, according to a CBI survey. More respondents expect output to fall than to rise over the coming three months, for the first time since November 2012. The survey also indicated the weakest levels of export orders for nearly three years.
• The UK unemployment rate fell again to 5.3% during the three months to September; the lowest since April 2008.  Rising employment was driven by increasing numbers of full-time employees. Average weekly earnings (excluding bonuses) were 2.5% higher than a year earlier during the same period: this was weaker than an average of 2.8% recorded over the spring and summer months.