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Monthly Services Index January 2023 (Provisional) December 2022 (Final)

Value of services increased by 3.2% in January 2023 and volume increased by 4.5%

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

Key Findings

  • In January 2023 the value of services increased by 3.2% when compared with December 2022.

  • The sectors with the highest monthly value growth in January 2023 were Wholesale & Retail Trade (+7.5%) and Other Service Activities (+6.4%).

  • The value of services output was 18.9% higher in January 2023 compared with January 2022.

  • The volume of services in January 2023 increased by 4.5% when compared with December 2022.

  • Other Service Activities (+4.7%) recorded the largest monthly volume increase.

  • Services were 15.1% higher in volume terms in January 2023 compared with January 2022.

Statistician's Comment

Commenting on the release, Tommy Allen, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: "The value of services increased by 3.2% in January 2023, while the volume increased by 4.5% when compared with December 2022.

Value Monthly Change

The value of services output in January 2023 increased by 3.2% when compared with December 2022 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The sectors that recorded monthly increases were Wholesale & Retail Trade (+7.5%), Other Service Activities (+6.4%), Transportation & Storage (+4.1%), Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (+2.9%), Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+1.9%), and Information & Communication (+1.6%). The only sector to record a decrease in activity was Administrative & Support Service Activities (-1.4%).

Value Annual Change

On an annual basis, the value of services was 18.9% higher in January 2023 compared with January 2022. Activity increased across all sectors compared with January 2022, with significant growth recorded in some sectors. The largest annual increase was in Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+56.6%). Caution should be exercised when interpreting this large increase, as the comparison is with a low base from a year ago. The remaining increases were in Other Service Activities (+44.0%), Information & Communication (+21.4%), Transportation & Storage (+17.1%), Wholesale & Retail Trade (+13.9%), Administrative & Support Service Activities (+4.9%), and Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (+2.5%).

Volume Monthly Change 

The volume of services output in January 2023 rose by 4.5% when compared with December 2022 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The sectors with monthly volume increases were Wholesale & Retail Trade (+6.0%), Other Service Activities (+4.7%), Transportation & Storage (+4.2%), Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (+3.6%), and Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+0.6%). The two sectors that showed a volume decrease were Administrative & Support Service Activities (-3.0%) and Information & Communication (-1.1%).  

Volume Annual Change

On an annual basis, services were 15.1% higher in volume terms in January 2023 compared with January 2022. Most sectors showed an increase in volume. The largest annual growth was in Accommodation & Food Service Activities (+44.1%), Other Service Activities (+35.2%), and Information & Communication (+19.7%). However, caution should be exercised when interpreting the largest of these increases, as the comparison is with a low base from the previous year. Administrative & Support Service Activities (-0.3%) was the only sector to decline over the period.

Graphs and Tables

The headline table shows the seasonally adjusted value and volume indices for Monthly Services Index. It also highlights the monthly and annual percentage change in both value and volume and overall changes since February 2020 (pre-COVID-19).

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Services Index Base Year (2015=100)
  Value Index Volume Index
January 2022137.8 124.4
December 2022158.7 137.0
January 2023163.8 143.2
% change   
Monthly3.2% 4.5%
Annual 18.9% 15.1%
February 2020 - January 202328.9% 24.4%
Figure 1: Monthly Services Index, January 2020 - January 2023
Figure 2: Monthly percentage change January 2023
Business SectorsMonth on MonthYear on Year
Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (M)0.250430.2485
Administrative & Support Service Activities (N)-0.051320.1907
Accommodation & Food Service Activities (I)0.084921.9034
Information & Communication (J)0.775510.2755
Other Service Activities (NACE 68,92-92,95-96)0.302031.7729
Transportation & Storage (H)0.340281.4366
Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles
& Motorcycles (G)
1.541593.087

Annual value percentage changes, February 2020 (pre-COVID-19) to January 2023

As of January 2023, most sectors had surpassed their pre-COVID-19 value level. Information & Communication was 51.2% higher than its pre-COVID-19 level in February 2020. Furthermore, while Accommodation and Food Service Activities has seen a notable value increase of 56.6% since January 2022, it remains only 2.9% above its February 2020 pre-COVID-19 level.

However, Administrative & Support Service Activities (-8.0%) still remains significantly below its February 2020 pre-COVID-19 level.

Business SectorsJanuary 2022 - January 2023February 2020 - January 2023
All Services18.928.9
Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles
& Motorcycles (G)
13.922.8
Transportation & Storage (H)17.14.3
Accommodation & Food Service Activities (I)56.62.9
Information & Communication (J)21.451.2
Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (M)2.57.1
Administrative & Support Service Activities (N)4.9-8
Other Service Activities ( NACE 68,92-93,95-96)4427.9
1 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for the Non-Financial Traded sector

2 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Wholesale and Retail Trade: Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles

3 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Accommodation and Food Service Activities

4 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities

5 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Administrative and Support Service Activities

6 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Transport and Storage

7 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Information and Communication

8 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume Indices for Other Service Activities

9 Seasonally Adjusted Value and Volume percentage changes per sector February 2020 - January 2023