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If you’re keenly watching out for how the UK economy is performing, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has some new measurements that will help.

First, there’s the weekly faster indicators report, which contains an assortment of statistics including how many companies are incorporated and dissolved each month.

Then there’s the new quarterly business demography report, which records, among other things, the number of businesses that have registered for PAYE or VAT.

They’re quite interesting if you’re curious about the economy – just read the main points if you want to save time – but they can also inform long term decisions such as house buying or investment.

It’s worth bearing in mind that there’s less number crunching compared to some of ONS’s reports, which means you should take more care in interpreting them.