Index of Services, UK: November 2022

• Monthly services output rose by 0.2% between October and November 2022 but remains 0.2% below February 2020, which was the last month of “normal” trading conditions before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The Index of Services (IoS) saw rises in 6 of the 14 sectors during November 2022; information and communication (1.7%), and administrative and support service activities (2.0%) both contributed 0.15 percentage points to IoS growth.
• Currently, 7 of the 14 services sectors are above their February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic level; information and communication saw the largest percentage increase during this period (10.5%).
• Services output for the three months to November 2022 fell by 0.1%, compared with the three months to August 2022; over this period, information and communication was the largest contributor to the fall, with growth falling by 1.6%.
• For further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly IoS estimate, please see our GDP monthly estimate, UK: November 2022 article, published on 13 January 2023.

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: November 2022 bulletin, published on 16 December 2022.

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 article.

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).

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 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