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British services PMI slides to 53.3 in September

Xinhua, October 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

British services purchasing managers' index (PMI), a gauge measuring the industry activity, fell to 53.3 in September from 55.6 in August, indicating the weakest rate of growth since April 2013.

Correspondingly, the average reading for the index over the third quarter as a whole (55.4) was the weakest since the second quarter of 2013, according to the report.

The reading suggested the rate of expansion in new business slowed for the fifth time in six months in September. The overall pace of growth was the slowest since April 2013.

On the contrary, employment at service providers rose at a stronger rate in September. The rate of job creation was the strongest since June, and took the current sequence of increases to 33 months.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: "Weakness is spreading from the struggling manufacturing sector, hitting transport and other industrial-related services in particular. There are also signs that consumers have become more cautious and are pulling back on their leisure spending, such as on restaurants and hotels."

David Noble, group CEO at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, commented: "Employment levels were the only bright spot, showing a strong rise and at the most robust rate since June, though firms also reported an impact on costs with higher wages and concerns about the effects of the living wage." Endit