ONS Services Index Up 1.1%

The index of services for September published by the ONS increased by 1.1% compared with September 2011 but is estimated to have decreased by 0.5% between August and September 2012. Three of the four components of the index increased compared with the same month last year. The largest increases were in government and other services with an increase of 2% and hotels and restaurants with an increase of 2.3%. Business services and finance also increased but by a smaller margin of 0.6%. The only sector to report a decrease was transport, storage and communication with a fall of 1.3%.