Index of Services, UK: August 2022

• Monthly services output fell by 0.1% between July and August 2022 and is now 0.2% below February 2020, which was the last month of "normal" trading conditions prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• The Index of Services (IoS) saw falls in 8 of the 14 sectors during August 2022; most notably, human health and social care saw the largest fall, contributing negative 0.11 percentage points to the IoS (with growth falling by 1.3%).

• 8 of the 14 services subsectors are above their February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic level, with the largest percentage increase during this period being professional, scientific and technical activities (12.4%).

• Services output for the three months to August 2022 fell by 0.1% compared with the three months to May 2022; over this period, human health and social work activities was the largest contributor to the fall, with growth falling by 2.1%.

• For further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Services estimate, please see our Gross domestic product (GDP) monthly estimate, UK: August 2022 article published on 12 October 2022.

Data sources and collection

The Index of Services (IoS) is compiled using data from:

• the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Monthly Business Survey (44.4%)

• the ONS Retail Sales Inquiry (6.4%)

• the ONS Government Expenditure (20.1%)

• the ONS Households' Expenditure (15.3%)

• the ONS Finance Expenditure (7.8%)

• other sources (5.9%)

The Monthly Business Survey (MBS) data are published alongside this release in our MBS turnover of services industries dataset.

Data relating to the retail industry are broadly comparable with our Retail sales, Great Britain: August 2022 bulletin, published on 16 September 2022.

For further information on what is included within Other, please see the gross domestic product by output (GDP(o)) data sources catalogue.

The percentage of each data source is based on their gross value added weight. The GDP(o) methods and sources pages provide more information on the data that underpin these statistics; of particular note is the GDP(o) data sources catalogue.

From February 2018, Value Added Tax (VAT) data have also been included across 64 production industries for small- and medium-sized businesses. For more information, see our VAT turnover data in National Accounts: background and methodology.

Quality and methodology

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Index of Services Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).

This release gives data for August 2022 for the first time. It also incorporates revisions to monthly data from January 1997 to June 2022, as published in our Quarterly national accounts bulletin on 30 September 2022. July 2022 is also open to revision, taking on updated survey data and seasonal adjustment reviews.

A wide range of improvements to sources and methods have been incorporated into the accounts in this monthly GDP estimate as part of Blue Book 2022 as detailed in our Impact of Blue Book 2022 changes on gross domestic product article. These include:

• measuring the insurance industry using Solvency II regulatory data for the first time

• completing the transition to the improved Financial Survey of Pension Schemes

• a package of better sources and methods that improve the international comparability of the UK GDP estimates

• estimating 2020 for the first time using the Supply and Use Tables (SUTs) framework, which looks at the supply of goods and services on a very detailed level, how they are used in the economy, and their associated prices

These improvements have previously been reflected in our September quarterly national accounts estimate, with which the monthly GDP estimate are now aligned from January 1997 to June 2022.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The ONS' MBS is fully online, meaning that business owners can log on from any location and submit their data at an appropriate time. Most other data in the IoS come from within the ONS and therefore will be less affected by coronavirus than survey data.

Our latest data and analysis on the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and population are available on their own web page. This is the hub for all special coronavirus-related publications, including the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS).

The ONS has released a public statement on COVID-19 and the production of statistics. If you have specific queries, you can contact the media relations office by email at media.relations@ons.gov.uk.

Economic statistics governance after EU exit

Following the UK's exit from the EU, new governance arrangements are being put in place that will support the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards for UK economic statistics. These governance arrangements will promote international comparability and add to the credibility and independence of the UK's statistical system.

At the centre of this new governance framework will be the new National Statistician's Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE). NSCASE will support the UK by ensuring its processes for influencing and adopting international statistical standards are world-leading. The advice NSCASE provides to the National Statistician will span the full range of domains in economic statistics. This includes the National Accounts, fiscal statistics, prices, trade, and the balance of payments and labour market statistics.