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Fastest increase in service sector activity for six months during December
UK service providers signalled stronger growth momentum in December, with business activity and incoming new work both picking up at the strongest rates for six months. Moreover, optimism regarding the business outlook for 2024 improved for the second month in a row to its highest since last May, driven by hopes of a sustained turnaround in client demand. However, staff hiring remained subdued at the end of 2023, in part due to strong concerns about wage pressures. Overall input cost inflation accelerated to a three-month high, which contributed to the fastest rise in prices charged by service providers since last ... (full story)