CIPS Chief Economist John Glen Comments on UK Serv

Aihucha News on September 5: The service industry showed a worrying picture in August. The economic cooling effect caused by rising interest rates began to affect spending and confidence. The number of new orders decreased at the fastest rate since December last year. . This, combined with high costs of living and doing business (largely due to rising energy bills, fuel prices and wages), means supply chain managers are expressing concern about the direction of the services sector, which has begun to contract this month. While the contraction in the sector has been modest, there may be hesitancy over the coming months as the UK economy becomes more dangerous for both domestic and overseas businesses and competition among service providers intensifies. Staff recruitment is sluggish as backlogs dwindle and production capacity reaches its highest level in three years, with opportunities for job seekers shrinking as the UK's economic outlook darkens.