Service industries: Key Economic Indicators

The service industries include the retail sector, the financial sector, the public sector, business administration, leisure and cultural activities.

In 2020, the service industries accounted for 81% of total UK economic output (Gross Value Added). Services accounted for 82% of employment in October-December 2020.

Services Output

There was an increase of 0.2% in the Index of Services between January and February 2021.

There was a decrease of 1.9% in services in the three months to February 2021 compared with the three months to November 2020.

In the three months to February 2021, compared with the three months to February 2020, services output decreased by 8.3%.

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

In the Markit/CIPS PMI, a value of 50 means that there is no change in activity compared to the previous month. Values above 50 indicate an expansion, and values below 50 a contraction.

The UK services PMI was 60.1 in April 2021, compared with 56.3 in March. This is its fastest expansion since August 2014, driven particularly by consumer services thanks to the improving Covid-19 situation.