(Sharecast News) - Activity in the UK services sector picked up in February for the tenth month in a row, but businesses continued to cut staff and hike prices, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
The S&P Global services PMI business activity index came in at 53.9 from January's five-month high of 54.0. The headline index has now been above the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion every month since May 2025.
However, staffing numbers fell for the seventh month in a row, partly due to pressure on margins from higher business expenses. The survey found that efforts to pass on increased cost burdens led to another "robust" increase in prices charged.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Business activity continued to pick up across the UK service economy in February, with growth holding close to the five-month high seen at the start of 2026. Survey respondents commented on rising new business intakes and improving sales pipelines. This was linked to greater business and consumer spending, especially in domestic markets. Export orders were relatively subdued, however, and the rate of expansion slipped to a three-month low.
"February data pointed to a solid reduction in employment numbers, despite a sustained recovery in business activity. Job losses reflected ongoing efforts to focus on boosting productivity and mitigate sharply rising input costs.
"Higher payroll costs were widely cited as leading to a strong pace of overall input cost inflation. Greater food prices and technology costs were also reported in February. This contributed to another robust increase in prices charged by service providers, with the pace of inflation little-changed from January's five-month high."