Index of Services, UK: May 2021

• Monthly services output grew by 0.9% between April 2021 and May 2021 but was still 3.4% below its February 2020 level, the last month of "normal" trading conditions prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

• The growth in services was driven by a rise of 37.1% in accommodation and food service activities, supported by a 7.3% rise in arts, entertainment and recreation; there were rises in 8 out of the 14 sectors in the Index of Services.

• Services output for the three months to May 2021 rose by 3.9% compared with the three months to February 2021; this was led by wholesale and retail trade, which rose by 8.2% as retail sales recorded strong growth during April when non-essential retail was opened.

• The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant negative impact on output of the services industries, although each sector has been affected differently; for further and detailed analysis of the effect on our monthly Index of Services estimate, please see our article Coronavirus and the impact on output in the UK economy, UK: May 2021, published today (9 July 2021).

All data related to the Index of Services are available on the Related data page.

Data sources and collection

The Index of Services (IoS) is compiled using data from several different sources:

• ONS: Monthly Business Survey (44.4%)

• ONS: Retail Sales Inquiry (6.4%)

• ONS: Government Expenditure (20.1%)

• ONS: Households' Expenditure (15.3%)

• ONS: Finance Expenditure (7.8%)

• Other (5.9%)

The Monthly Business Survey (MBS) data are published alongside this release in MBS turnover in services industries.

Data relating to the retail industry are broadly comparable with Retail sales, Great Britain: May 2021, published on 18 June 2021.

For further information on what is included within Other, please see the GDP(o) data sources catalogue.

Percentage of each data source is based on their gross value added weight. The GDP(o) methods and sources pages provide more information on the data that underpin these statistics; of particular note is the GDP(o) data sources catalogue.

From February 2018, Value Added Tax (VAT) data have also been included across 64 production industries for small- and medium-sized businesses. For more information, see VAT turnover data in national accounts: background and methodology.

Quality and methodology

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in the Index of Services QMI.

Blue Book 2021

In Blue Book 2021, a new framework will be introduced to improve how we produce volume estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for balanced years as part of the supply use process. This framework includes the implementation of double-deflated industry-level gross value added for the first time. This improvement will be reflected in the September quarterly national accounts and October monthly GDP estimates. On 28 June, we published Blue Book 2021 indicative impacts of this change to industry-level gross value added volume.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Monthly Business Survey (MBS) is fully online, meaning that business owners can log on from any location and submit their data at an appropriate time. Most other data in the Index of Services come from within the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and therefore will be less affected than survey data.

Our latest data and analysis on the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the UK economy and population is now available on anew webpage. This will be the hub for all special virus-related publications, drawing on all available data.

The ONS has released a public statement on COVID-19 and the production of statistics. Specific queries must be directed to media.relations@ons.gov.uk