Index of Services, UK: December 2022

• Monthly services output fell by 0.8% between November and December 2022 and remains 0.7% 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 11 of the 14 sectors during December 2022; human health and social work activities saw the largest fall, contributing negative 0.25 percentage points to IoS growth (with growth falling by 2.8%). 

• Currently, 6 of the 14 services sectors are above their February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic level, with information and communication seeing the largest percentage increase during this period (11.5%).

• Services output for Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) is flat, compared with Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep); over this period, strength in administrative and support service activities (growing 3.4%) is balanced by weakness in education (falling 1.6%), along with transportation and storage (falling 2.4%).  

• For further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly IoS estimate, please see our GDP monthly estimate, UK: December 2022 article published on 10 February 2023.

Data sources and collection

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

• Office for National Statistics (ONS) Monthly Business Survey (44.4%)
• ONS Retail Sales Inquiry (6.4%)
• ONS Government Expenditure (20.1%)
• ONS Households' Expenditure (15.3%)
• ONS Finance Expenditure (7.8%)
• Other (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: December 2022 bulletin, published on 20 January 2023.

For further information on what is included within Other, please see our GDP(o) data sources catalogue.

The percentage of each data source is based on their gross value added weight. Our 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 QMI.

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 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).

We, at the ONS, have 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 Brexit

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

• the balance of payments and labour market statistics