CBI Service Sector Survey

Data Services

Source: CBI Economics
Source Link: https://www.cbi.org.uk/
Frequency: Monthly

Latest Updates

Key findings from our monthly Services Sector Survey showed:
- Business volumes in the services sector fell in the three months to October (-35%), at the same pace as in the three months to September.
- Both business & professional services (-34%) and consumer services (-40%) volumes fell heavily through the quarter.
- Hiring intentions within the services sector remain weak. Business & professional services expect headcount to fall modestly over the next three months (-11%), while consumer services companies expect a sharp fall in numbers employed (-33%)
- Selling price expectations in the services sector eased to their long-run average in October (+7%, from +14% in September). Inflation expectations have moderated for both business & professional services firms (+5%) and consumer services (+18%)
Source
Key findings from our monthly Services Sector Survey showed:
- Business volumes in the services sector fell in the three months to September (-35%), at a faster pace than in the quarter to August. The latest data marked eleven consecutive rolling quarters of decline.
- Both business & professional services (-35%) and consumer services (-34%) volumes fell through the quarter.
- Hiring intentions within the services sector remain weak. Business & professional services expect headcount to fall slightly over the next three months (-5%), while consumer services companies expect a sharp fall in numbers employed (-39%).
- Selling price expectations in the services sector have accelerated relative to August and stand above the long-run average (+14%, from +9% in August; long-run average +7%). Inflation expectations remain modest for business & professional services firms (+10%) but have picked up for consumer services (+27%).
Source
UK services sector confidence and activity remained weak in the three months to August 2025, though rates of decline slowed compared with earlier in the year.
- Business & professional services optimism fell for a fourth straight quarter (-29%), with business volumes down to a net balance of -30% (from -37% prior), while profitability deteriorated sharply (-42%).
- Consumer services optimism weakened for an eighth consecutive quarter (-34%), with business volumes down to a net balance of -26% and profitability contracting for the 15th straight quarter (-36%).
- Cost pressures stayed high: business & professional services reported a positive net balance of +62% in costs per person (vs +60% in May), while consumer services firms recorded +70% (well above the long-run +40%).
- Selling price inflation eased notably, with business & professional services at a net balance of +4% (vs +26% in May) and consumer services at +20% (vs +32%).
- Employment continued to decline, though at a slower pace: headcount fell to a net balance of -16% in business & professional services and -36% in consumer services, with further but smaller declines expected next quarter.
Source
Key findings from our monthly Services Sector Survey showed:
- Business volumes in the services sector fell in the three months to July (-35%), at a faster pace than in the quarter to June. The latest data marked nine consecutive rolling quarters of decline.
- Both business & professional services (-37%) and consumer services (-30%) volumes fell through the quarter.
- But trends between the two sectors diverged: business & professional services saw the fastest fall in activity since October 2020, while consumer services reported the slowest decline in nine months.
- Hiring intentions within the services sector remain weak. Business & professional services expect headcount to fall over the next three months (-19%), while consumer services companies expect a comparatively sharper fall in numbers employed (-37%).
- Selling price expectations in the services sector have eased close to long-run averages (+11%; long-run average +7%). Inflation expectations have retreated in both business & professional services (+7%) and consumer services (+24%).
Source
The UK services sector remained under pressure in the quarter to June, with business volumes declining across both segments and hiring intentions weakening further.
- Business volumes in the services sector declined in the three months to June (-24%), at a broadly similar pace to the quarter to May. The latest data marked eight consecutive rolling quarters of decline.
- Both business & professional services (-20%) and consumer services (-43%) volumes fell through the quarter.
- Hiring intentions within the services sector remain weak. Business & professional services expect headcount to fall modestly over the next three months (-10%), while consumer services companies continue to expect a sharp fall in numbers employed (-36%).
- Selling price expectations (+24%) for the quarter to September are elevated and stand well above the historic average (+7%). Inflation expectations in business & professional services were broadly unchanged from May (+23%) and have accelerated somewhat for consumer services firms (+29%). Both readings remain above their long-run averages.
Source
The UK services sector continued to weaken in the quarter to May, with business confidence deteriorating sharply, business volumes declining, and cost pressures intensifying across both business & professional and consumer services.
- Business & professional services optimism fell to -43% (from -28%), with business volumes down -18% and expected to drop further (-29%) next quarter.
- Business volumes remained weak across both the business services and consumer services sectors with the former index at -18% and the latter index down to -36%.
- The profitability measure remained deeply negative with business services at -34% and consumer services at -43%. Both indexes are expected to fall to -47% in the next three months.
- Selling prices in business services rose at their fastest pace in two years (+26%), while costs surged +60% and are expected to rise +63% next quarter.
- Consumer services optimism remained deeply negative at -42%, with business volumes down -36% and expected to fall further (-43%) in the next quarter.
- Headcount fell -28% in consumer services and is expected to fall -36% next quarter; business services hiring was flat but projected to decline -11%.
- Investment intentions deteriorated across both segments, with planned cuts in IT, vehicles, and property, and demand uncertainty cited as the main constraint.
Charts
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The UK services sector business volumes index declined to -24% in the three months to April, marking the sixth straight quarterly contraction, though the pace eased slightly from March.
- Business & professional services volumes fell -20%, while consumer services volumes dropped -41%.
- Hiring expectations remain negative, with business & professional services at -17% and consumer services at -42%.
- Selling price expectations for the next quarter are elevated at +27% (vs long-run average of +7%).
- Inflation expectations were steady at +23% for business & professional services and +40% for consumer services.
Source
The UK services sector business volumes index declined to -27% in the three months to March, slightly improving from February’s pace but continuing a prolonged period of weak activity.
- The business & professional services volumes index fell to -22%, while the consumer services volumes index declined to -34%.
- Hiring intentions remain weak, with the business & professional services index at -14%, and the consumer services index at -36%.
- The index tracking firms’ price growth expectations for the next quarter remained elevated at +27% (long-run average: +7%).
- The business & professional services inflation expectations index rose to +24% (from +19% in February), while the consumer services inflation expectations index eased to +41% (from +48%) but stayed historically high.
Source
UK service sector general business sentiment deteriorated in February. The business services optimism index was only up 1 pt to -28, and the consumer services optimism index was unchanged at -55, the joint worst since August 2022.
- Sentiment was impacted by low business volumes across both segments: business services down -10 pts to -26, consumer services unchanged at -53.
- Average consumer services selling price inflation picked up in the three months to February (+36%) compared to November 2024 (+10%).
- Business services profitability fell strongly (-37%), at the fastest pace since August 2020 (-46%), whilst also marking four years of continuous decline quarter upon quarter.
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