Hiring intentions at lowest level in nearly 15 years Markets British businesses are the most pessimistic about hiring they have been in nearly 15 years, according to consultancy firm BDO. UK bosses are facing difficult hiring decisions as the cost of employment ramps up, with the BDO’s employment index at its weakest reading since March 2011. The index, which reflects hiring intentions, held at 93.30 [...]
Birmingham driving service sector boom Markets Birmingham has been at the front of a “service sector boom”, according to new research from Oxford Economics, helping to drive job creation across the wider region. The West Midlands combined authority (WMCA), which contains Britain’s second city, saw gross value added (GVA) in the services sector rise by an average of 4.2 per cent [...]
Services sector rebound expected to help economy limp towards growth Economics Rachel Reeves is set to breathe a minor sigh of relief at the sight of new economic data this week with the UK economy expected to have limped towards growth in December. A survey of City economists by Bloomberg had projected a 0.1 per cent expansion in December and 0.2 per cent for the fourth-quarter. [...]
Jobs losses continue in service sector despite ‘rebound’ in UK growth December 16, 2025 Jobs across the services sector declined in December despite some signals of a “rebound” across the UK economy in new survey data. Analysts at S&P Global said staffing numbers across UK firms continued to drop as the year drew to a close due to “intense cost pressures”. The services sector suffered the most significant drop [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
UK economy stalls with 50,000 job losses ahead of Autumn Budget September 23, 2025 The UK economy was hit by a “litany of worrying news” in the three months to September with thousands of jobs lost ahead of Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget. The latest ‘flash’ PMI from S&P Global showed business activity expectations for the year ahead slumped to a three-month low in September as firms braced for [...]
Services lead ‘fragile and uneven’ business activity rebound August 21, 2025 Business activity in the UK’s private sector enjoyed its strongest rebound in a year this month, but economists have cautioned the growth remains “fragile and uneven.” S&P’s Global flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached 53.0 in August, up from 51.5 in July and marking the highest score in 12 months. Any score above [...]
Goods now make up just 40 per cent of UK exports July 28, 2025 The proportion of UK exports made up of goods has sunk to a record low, with the economy ever more dependent upon services. That’s according to analysis done by the Financial Times based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, which found that goods now account for just 40.8 per cent of exports. Back in [...]
UK firms shed jobs at fastest rate in three years amid payroll hikes January 6, 2025 Weak demand and higher payroll costs have led to the steepest decline in service sector jobs since January 2021, according to a new survey. Nearly a quarter of survey respondents reported a fall in workforce levels, while 12 per cent signalled a rise, data from the S&P Global UK Services PMI showed. “Service providers widely [...]
Budget tax hikes send business confidence to two year low, survey shows December 4, 2024 S&P's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the services sector showed that business expectations for the year ahead were at their lowest level since December 2022.