The ONS is planning the development of a constant price monthly index of service sector output. This is in response to demand from customers such as HM Treasury and the Bank of England and will mark a significant advance in the measurement of economic activity in the service sector. It is an ambitious project which is both technically and operationally complex. A prototype series, covering the entire service sector, is planned for release in December 2000.
A monthly Index of Distribution, covering wholesale, retail and motor trades, will be produced as a stepping- stone, with a prototype series to be released in December this year (1999). The monthly Index of Services will cover exactly the same industries as the present quarterly total services index which is a part of quarterly GDP. The monthly results will sum to the GDP quarterly services index. Initially, there will be limitations on the achievable data quality but there will be a continuing programme to introduce improvements
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