Britain’s services sector shrank for a third consecutive month as the economy continues to “skirt with recession”, according to a closely-watched survey.
The S&P Global/CIPS UK Services purchasing managers index (PMI), which measures output in the industry, registered a reading of 49.5 in October, fractionally up on the previous month. A figure below 50 indicates a contraction in activity.
Companies blamed cost of living pressures, high interest rates and weak consumer confidence for holding back customer demand.
The survey found services businesses, which make up 80pc of the UK economy, had their lowest confidence so far this year and that companies are continuing to shed jobs.
Much of the downturn was blamed on the difficulty attracting new business opportunities, with the reduction in total new work the fastest in a year.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global, said: “A shallow downturn in UK service sector activity persisted in October as businesses struggled to make headway against a backdrop of worsening domestic economic conditions and stretched household budgets.
“Forward-looking survey indicators suggested that service providers will continue to skirt with recession.”
It comes as separate data from the British Retail Consortium showed footfall at UK retailers fell by 5.7pc in October.
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2023-11-03 09:55:00Z
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