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Monthly Services Index August 2023 (Provisional) July 2023 (Final)

Value of services up 1.0% in August 2023 while volume remained unchanged

Online ISSN: 2009-5074
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Key Findings

  • In August 2023 the value of services increased by 1.0% when compared with July 2023.

  • The value of services output was 2.7% higher in August 2023 in comparison with August 2022.

  • The sector with the highest monthly value growth in August 2023 was Transportation & Storage (+5.2%).

  • The volume of services in August 2023 remained unchanged when compared with July 2023.

  • Services were 1.3% higher in volume terms in August 2023 in comparison with August 2022.

  • Transportation & Storage (+4.2%) recorded the largest monthly volume increase.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (06 October 2023) released Monthly Services Index August 2023 (Provisional) and July 2023 (Final).

Commenting on the release, Tommy Allen, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: "The value of services increased by 1.0% in August 2023 while the volume remained unchanged when compared with July 2023.

Value Monthly Change

The value of services output in August increased by 1.0% when compared with the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis. The sectors that recorded monthly increases were Transportation & Storage (+5.2%), Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (+3.2%), Information & Communication (+0.8%), Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+0.6%), and Administrative & Support Service Activities (+0.5%). Wholesale & Retail Trade (0.0%) experienced no growth in the month. The only sector to show a decrease was Other Service Activities (-3.0%).

Value Annual Change

On an annual basis, the value of services was 2.7% higher in August when compared with August 2022. The largest annual increase was in Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+13.3%). Increases were also observed in Administrative & Support Service Activities (+5.3%), Information & Communication (+4.8%), and Transportation & Storage (+3.4%). The sectors which recorded decreases in activity were Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (-5.6%), Other Service Activities (-1.6%), and Wholesale & Retail Trade (-0.4%).

Volume Monthly Change 

The volume of services output in August remained unchanged when compared with the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis. The sectors with monthly volume increases were Transportation & Storage (+4.2%), Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (+2.9%), Administrative & Support Service Activities (+0.7%), and Information & Communication (+0.5%). The sectors that showed a reduction in volume were Other Service Activities (-3.1%), Accommodation & Food Service Activities (-2.3%), and Wholesale & Retail Trade (-0.7%). 

Volume Annual Change

On an annual basis, services were 1.3% higher in volume terms in August when compared with August 2022. The largest annual growth was in Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+8.1%) and Information & Communication (+6.9%). The sector with the largest decline was Other Service Activities (-7.0%)."

Headline Table

The headline table shows the seasonally adjusted value and volume indices for the Monthly Services Index. It also highlights the monthly and annual percentage change in both value and volume. Value indices represent turnover, whereas volume indices represent deflated turnover which negates the impact of price changes. 

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Services Index Base Year (2015=100)
  Value Index Volume Index
August 2022160.3 140.5
July 2023162.9 142.3
August 2023164.6 142.3
% change   
Monthly1.0% 0.0%
Annual 2.7% 1.3%

Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Index for Monthly Services

Figure 1 shows the seasonally adjusted value and volume indices for the Monthly Service Index.

Figure 1: Monthly Services Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices, August 2021 – August 2023
Table 1 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for All Services

Monthly and Annual Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume percentage changes

Figure 2a presents the monthly seasonally adjusted value and volume percentage changes for August 2023 compared with July 2023.

Business SectorsSeasonally Adjusted ValueSeasonally Adjusted Volume
Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles
& Motorcycles
0-0.7
Transportation & Storage5.24.2
Accommodation & Food Service Activities0.6-2.3
Information & Communication0.80.5
Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities3.22.9
Administrative & Support Service Activities0.50.7
Other Service Activities-3-3.1
All Services10

Figure 2b shows the annual seasonally adjusted value and volume percentage changes for August 2023 compared with August 2022.

Business SectorsSeasonally Adjusted ValueSeasonally Adjusted Volume
Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles
& Motorcycles
-0.4-1.6
Transportation & Storage3.4-0.9
Accommodation & Food Service Activities13.38.1
Information & Communication4.86.9
Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities-5.6-6.7
Administrative & Support Service Activities5.31.5
Other Service Activities-1.6-7
All Services2.71.3
Table 2 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Monthly Services for All Sectors - Provisional Results August 2023

Contributions to Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Services Value Index

Figure 3 shows the positive and negative contributions of each sector to the monthly and annual value change in the Monthly Services index.

X-axis labelMonth on MonthYear on Year
Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles
& Motorcycles
-0.00771-0.07841
Transportation & Storage0.42230.28787
Accommodation & Food Service Activities0.026630.57122
Information & Communication0.414082.33892
Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities0.27026-0.52732
Administrative & Support Service Activities0.017190.17993
Other Service Activities-0.1266-0.06774

Value and Volume indices by detailed sectors

Tables 3 to 9 present seasonally adjusted value and volume for detailed sectors. 

Table 3 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles & Motorcycles

Table 4 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Transportation & Storage

Table 5 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Accommodation & Food Service Activities

Table 6 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Information & Communication

Table 7 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities

Table 8 Seasonally Adjusted Indices Administrative & Support Service Activities

Table 9 Seasonally Adjusted Indices for Other Service Activities

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