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Fastest rate of UK service sector output growth for 24 years, but prices charged inflation hits record high
The recovery in UK service sector output gained further momentum in May, driven by resurgent business and consumer spending in response to looser pandemic restrictions. This led to the strongest rate of employment growth for just over six years. Backlogs of work nonetheless continued to accumulate at a robust pace due to forward bookings, pressure on business capacity and staff shortages. Meanwhile, input cost inflation reached its highest since July 2008. A combination of strong demand and rising operating expenses resulted in the steepest increase in prices charged by service providers since the survey began in ... (full story)