Figures from the UK’s national economic development bank, the British Business Bank, have shown an increase in the bank’s supply of finance to smaller businesses.

The bank’s Annual Reports and Accounts for 2017/18 showed that the total amount of finance provided through its programmes has reached £12.25bn, a rise of 33% over the last financial year.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that the UK’s employment rate has reached a record high of 75.7%, up from 74.9% a year earlier.

The number of people in employment reached 32.40 million, 137,000 more than for December 2017 to February 2018 and 388,000 more than the previous year.

A study from workplace help platform Rungway has identified which industries in the UK have the happiest workers, with financial services and banking making the list.

The study surveyed 2,000 employees in Britain to find out how happy they are in their job role. The figures showed that while 40% of UK workers are satisfied with their job, there is room for improvement.

Research from Amazon has shown that financial services are among the sectors that are leading the SME economy, with small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector seeing a 1.7% increase in revenues over the past year.

The Q2 2018 Amazon SME Growth Tracker from Capital Economics, which was commissioned by Amazon UK and Enterprise Nation, analysed the growth prospects and views on the wider UK economy from SMEs using data from a survey of more than 1,000 UK SMEs.

Research from the City of London’s governing body, the City of London Corporation, has shown that the UK’s financial and professional services sector is making a significant contribution to society.

The sector was found to be making contributions through volunteering, charity donations and funding, with education and economic development being among the supported causes.

A survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of mobile payment services firm Ondot has highlighted a demand for real-time interaction with banks among UK consumers.

The study revealed what consumers want the most from their bank, with 60% citing peace of mind when using their card online and 25% wanting their transaction alerts to be displayed in real time.

Research from Lloyds Bank has shown that business confidence in the UK has reached its highest since the EU referendum in 2016.

The Business in Britain report surveyed more than 1,500 UK businesses, mostly small and medium-sized firms, to measure confidence and outlook and found that 25% were feeling confident about their expected sales, orders and profits over the next six months, up from 23% in January 2018.

A report from KPMG has shown that the UK has once again taken the top spot for venture capital (VC) investment in Europe.

The Big Four accountancy firm’s Venture Pulse Q2 2018, which explores global trends in the VC market, showed that £1.55bn was invested in businesses in the UK across 244 deals in the second quarter of 2018, up from just over £1.1m in the first quarter.

A report from EY has shown that the UK continues to be the leading destination in Europe for financial services investment.

The Big Four accountancy firm’s UK Attractiveness Report showed that while there has been a decline in investment projects since last year as a result of Brexit, the UK still brought in a higher number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects than any other country in Europe, with 78 projects being registered.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is urging the government to increase spending in national infrastructure after research commissioned by City Hall found that investment in infrastructure schemes could help to boost the UK economy by £33bn.

The report, which was carried out by consultancy firm Greenwood Strategic Advisors and entitled Mind the Gap: Funding and Financing City Investments in the 21st Century, analysed a number of schemes, exploring how London responds to public investments.

The latest Business Trends Report by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP has shown that businesses in the UK are feeling confident about their performance over the next six months, despite a drop in output growth.

BDO’s Optimism Index showed what businesses expect in terms of output development over the next six months, with optimism hitting 101.85 in June, up from 101.74 in May and higher than the long-term trend.

A report from financial and related professional services membership body TheCityUK has shown that the financial services sector is thriving, with many areas of the UK seeing job growth.

The report, entitled “Enabling Growth across the UK 2018”, highlighted the importance of financial and related professional services to the UK, with the sector making a significant contribution to economic output and employment across all regions.

A report from IHS Markit has shown that the UK’s services sector saw an increase in activity in June, with demand for financial services being one of the main drivers of growth.

The financial services firm’s Purchasing Managers’ Index increased to 55.1 last month, up from 54 in May, with activity in the UK’s services sector growing at its fastest rate since October 2017. The increase was higher than expected, with analysts predicting that the index would remain at 54.