Index of Services, UK: June 2021

• Monthly services output grew by 1.5% between May 2021 and June 2021 but was still 2.1% below its February 2020 level, the last month of "normal" trading conditions prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• There were rises in 11 out of the 14 sectors in the index of services, but the growth was led by a rise of 4.5% in the human health and social work activities sector. The professional, scientific and technical activities sector was the second largest contributor to growth, which also grew by 4.5%.

• Services output for Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2021 rose by 5.7% compared with Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2021; this was led by wholesale and retail trade, which rose by 12.8% as retail sales recorded strong growth during April when non-essential retail reopened.

• The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant negative effect on output of the services industries, although each sector has been affected differently; for further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Services estimate, please see our article Coronavirus and the impact on output in the UK economy, UK: June 2021, published today (12 August 2021).

Data sources and collection

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

• 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 Monthly Business Survey turnover in services industries.

Data relating to the retail industry are broadly comparable with Retail sales, Great Britain: June 2021, published on 23 July 2021.

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

Percentage of each data source is based on their gross value added weight. The GDP(o) methods and sources pages in the Index of Services (IoS) provide more information about 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 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 the Index of Services QMI.

Blue Book 2021

In Blue Book 2021 a new framework will be introduced to improve how we produce volume estimates of GDP for balanced years as part of the supply use process. This framework includes the implementation of double-deflated industry-level gross value added for the first time. This improvement will be reflected in the September quarterly national accounts and October monthly GDP estimates. On 28 June we published Blue Book 2021 indicative impacts of this change to industry level gross value added volume.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Office for National Statistics' (ONS') Monthly Business Survey (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 effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and population is now available on a new coronavirus (COVID-19) web page. This will be the hub for all special coronavirus-related publications, including the fortnightly Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey (BICS).

The ONS has released a public statement on COVID-19 and the production of statistics. If you have specific queries, please email the Media Relations Office.