Service sector edges up by 0.2 per cent in July

Output in the key service sector was slightly higher in July, according to official figures published yesterday.

The Office for National Statistics said the sector, which accounts for more than three-quarters of the UK economy, had risen 0.2 per cent; in June it had contracted by 0.3 per cent. In annual terms, output was 1.3 per cent ahead.

Separate figures showed that labour productivity in the second quarter was unchanged from the preceding three-month period, leaving the rate of growth in output per worker down by 0.2 per cent on the year.