Service industries: Key Economic Indicators

Gloria Tyler

Service industries: Key Economic Indicators

Published Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Service industries: Data for the sector that incorporates the retail sector, the financial sector, the public sector, business administration and cultural activities.

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

In 2017, the service industries accounted for 79% of total UK economic output (Gross Value Added). Services accounted for 83% of workforce jobs in September 2018.

Services Output

In the three months to February 2019, services output increased by 0.4% compared with the three months ending November 2018. The computer programming sector made the largest contribution to this growth.

Services output increased by 0.1% between January and February 2019, following an increase of 0.3% between December 2018 and January 2019.

Services output for the three months to February 2019 increased by 2.0% compared with the three months to February 2018.

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

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

The UK services PMI was 48.9 in March 2019. This is down from 51.3 in February, and is the lowest that it has been since July 2016.

Brexit related uncertainty was cited as a prime reason for continued caution. The number of new orders fell for the third month in a row, although employment was up slightly in March compared to February.

Business optimism increased to its highest level since October 2018, as companies hoped for greater clarity on Brexit.