Index of Services, UK: September 2022

• Monthly services output fell by 0.8% between August and September 2022 and is now 0.6% below February 2020, which was the last month of “normal” trading conditions before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• The Index of Services (IoS) saw falls in 9 of the 14 sectors during September 2022, with information and communication seeing the largest fall, contributing negative 0.29 percentage points to IoS (with growth falling by 3.2%).

• 8 of the 14 services sectors are above their February 2020 pre-coronavirus pandemic level, with the largest percentage increase being professional, scientific and technical activities (10.7%).

• Services output for Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2022 was flat, compared with Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2022.

• For further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly IoS estimate, please see our GDP monthly estimate, UK: September 2022 article published on 11 November 2022.

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: September 2022 bulletin, published on 21 October 2022.

For further information on what is included within Other, please see the 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 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.

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 coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK and its effect on the economy and society 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, and the balance of payments and labour market statistics.