- Prior 54.2
- Final Composite PMI 50.1 vs 51.0 prelim
- Prior 53.5
Key findings:
- Slower increases in output and new orders in
September - Employment falls at faster pace
- Strong input cost inflation persists
Comment:
Tim Moore, Economics Director at S&P Global Market
Intelligence, said:
“UK service providers experienced a disappointing end to
the third quarter as weak consumer confidence, delays
to business spending decisions and falling exports all
weighed on demand. Business activity expansion hit a
five-month low, while new order gains were much softer
than the 11-month high seen in August.
“Consequently, this summer’s acceleration in output
growth is now looking like a flash in the pan as elevated
political and economic uncertainty has reasserted itself
as a constraint on service sector performance. Many
survey respondents suggested that corporate clients
had deferred spending decisions until after the Autumn
Budget, while households were also hesitant about major
purchases.
“Outside of the UK, service providers were unable
to escape challenging market conditions. Total new
work from abroad returned to contraction territory in
September. Lacklustre demand across Europe was a
common theme reported by survey respondents.
“Another round of job cuts followed in the wake of the
subdued service sector performance during September,
which marked 12 months of falling employment. This
was accompanied by softer growth projections for the
year ahead and slightly weaker cost pressures. These
signals of softening labour market conditions and easing
inflationary pressures are likely to provide support to
the more dovish shift in the policy debate at the Bank of
England.”
UK Composite PMI