UK Services Activity Continues To Expand

(RTTNews) - The upturn in UK service sector output sustained in September with the recovery in new work amid upbeat business expectations, final purchasing managers' survey data from S&P Global revealed Monday.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index registered 52.1 in September, down from 52.5 in August. The earlier flash estimate was 51.7.

Higher levels of business activity were linked to a slight recovery in new work. While strong demand for technology services was reported, there were specific mentions of weaker demand from clients in the construction sector. Overall new orders grew at the slowest pace since the current sequence of expansion began in July. New business from abroad fell for the seventh successive month, the survey showed.

Job cuts continued across the service sector in September. Nonetheless, the rate of decline in workforce was the slowest since October 2025.

The rate of input price inflation picked up to the highest since June due to higher oil and gas prices. Consequently, service providers raised their output prices the most since May.

Firms remained upbeat about business outlook but the degree of positive sentiment eased from August's six-month high.

Further, the survey showed that the overall private sector output growth lost momentum in September as both manufacturing and service sectors reported softer growth. The final composite output index fell to 52.0 from 52.5 in August. The reading was above the flash estimate of 51.7.