Service industries: Key Economic Indicators

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

The service industries accounted for 79% of total UK economic output (Gross Value Added) in April–June 2023 and 83% of employment in January–March 2023.

Services Output

There was a fall of 0.5% in the Index of Services between June and July 2023.

Services output increased by 0.1% in the three months to July compared with the three months to April.

In the three months to July 2023, compared with the three months to July 2022, services output increased by 0.1%.

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

In the S&P Global/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 (PDF) in August was 49.5, down from 51.5 in July and showing a contraction for the first time since January 2023. Both sales volumes and new work were down, linked to higher borrowing costs and squeezed incomes, and employment slowed. While input cost inflation was lower than in previous months, it remained high by historical standards.