LONDON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The growth of Britain's services sector remained weak in December 2025, with the seasonally adjusted services purchasing managers' index (PMI) only increasing fractionally, data from the S&P Global showed Tuesday.
The headline S&P Global UK Services PMI business activity index came in at 51.4 in December, up from 51.3 in the previous month. The index was lower than the earlier flash estimate of 52.1, according to the data.
The speed of business activity expansion in December was lower than seen on average in the second half of 2025, said Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, noting the most positive development as a renewed upturn in new business intakes, following a slight decline during November.
He attributed the modest growth in new work to tentative signs of a recovery in client confidence after an extended period of pre-Budget gloom and a marginal rebound in export sales. However, he cautioned that survey respondents still noted sales headwinds linked to weak UK economic prospects, alongside challenging operating conditions due to factors such as sharply rising business costs and soft demand in major overseas markets.
Cautious hiring policies persisted at the end of 2025, with around 21 percent of the survey panel reporting a decline in employment, S&P Global said. The respective seasonally adjusted index pointed to an overall decline in staffing numbers for the 15th month in a row, according to the company.
"Worries about squeezed margins and broader growth prospects contributed to another marked reduction in services sector employment during December," Moore added. ■