Professional services output falls
On the back of a drop in business activity, output in the professional service sector has fallen in the last quarter with expectations of worse to come.
A sector survey by the Confederation of British Industry and Big Five firm Deloitte & Touche showed output down to a balance of minus 14% for business and professional services compared to plus 3% in the last survey.
Output fell by minus 59% for consumer services compared to minus 20% in the last survey.
Sudhir Junankar, the CBI’s associate director of economic analysis, said: ‘The downturn in the service sector has deepened, with business activity dropping particularly sharply in consumer services.
‘For business and professional services, however, the pressure is set to intensify into the New Year.’
A third consecutive fall in business confidence has been partly linked to the impact of the 11 September attacks, according to the quarterly survey.
Business confidence in the professional services sector dropped to a balance of minus 50%. The downward slide is expected to continue over the next three months.
Prices in professional services fell in line with expectations. Further falls are expected across the whole sector in the coming months.
Employment in business and professional services fell for the first time since the survey began in 1998 and the trend is expected to continue.
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