Business activity in the UK service sector continued to increase during March. Growth was solid and the strongest since last August as incoming new work also rose at an accelerated rate. Payroll numbers increased, albeit at a factional pace, while confidence in the outlook improved to the highest for ten months. The headline seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index registered 52.4 in March. That was up from February’s 51.8 and the best reading for seven survey periods. Solid growth was achieved despite a number of reports that poor weather had weighed on activity. Increased service sector output was supported by a ... (full story)