Business activity in the UK service sector continued to increase markedly during May, supported by another firm increase in volumes of incoming new work. Capacity was subsequently tested and encouraged service providers to take on staff at the joint sharpest rate since May 1997. Wages were also reported by a number of service providers to have increased, which led to the sharpest rise in operating costs for four months. Despite the uptick in cost inflation, confidence with regards to future activity was retained, with over 50% of the survey panel forecasting growth over the next 12 months. After accounting for ... (full story)